HP: Dolen Amser
by Jonn Wolfe
Summary: After the Department of Mysteries, a duel with Voldemort at #4 Privet Drive has Harry thrown back before his First Year. Now he has to deal with everything again and avoid his younger self at the same time. Now, what's up with his flippin hair? GoodReason!Dumbledore, OnTheFence!Snape, Unbound!Harry, Happy!Harry, HONKS
1. Seat Back Forwards

_**'HP: Dolen Amser'  
**__Chapter One  
- Seat Back Forwards -_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I don't own squat, save for the plot._

_Tonkslover94 did this with 'Second Chance'. This is quite similar with different nuances, house, and plot-line. Thanks goes to him for letting me take his idea and throw it in a spin cycle._

_Dolen Amser is 'Time Loop' in Welsh._

_Initially set in the summer before Sixth Year, before heading to the year before the First._

_GoodReason!Dumbledore, OnTheFence!Snape, Unbound!Harry, Happy!Harry, Honks!_

* * *

Harry's head was on fire, and he couldn't help but groan as he drifted into consciousness. He could discern a sterile environment, and felt that he was in some sort of hospital. Internally, he bemoaned the fact that he was yet again waking up under the care of healers, before he remembered the duel.

_Voldemort got past the wards at the Dursleys! _

His moaning, then sitting up sharply drew the attention of two individuals. Harry couldn't tell who or even what sex they were. The non colour grey of their cloaks, and the obscuring hoods they wore made it completely impossible. "No, don't tell me. Department of Mysteries?" he deadpanned.

"Indeed, sir," one of them said with a distorted voice.

The other one handed him a potion. "Drink that, and you should feel more centred. It also has a pain potion mixed in, so your headache should pass soon."

Sniffing it first, Harry guzzled the potion. He smacked his lips at the odd flavour. "Citrus?" he mumbled, then felt the pain slowly depart. "Oh, that's better."

"I've been told by a few muggle born and half bloods that it reminds them of Sprite?" the other one said. "Now, we need for you to take this one so we can get a few answers."

Harry sniffed the small vial he was handed, and shook his head. "I'm not taking veritaserum without knowing what the devil is going on."

The two looked at each other, then sat down on opposite sides of the bed. "That's understandable," the first one said. "We found you in the middle of Little Whinging, Surrey, wearing little more than sleeping clothes and holding your wand. The magical traces that were in the area indicated a temporal anomaly that we couldn't readily identify."

Harry blinked. "Time Travel?" At their nods, he shook his head. "Okay, here's the big question: What's the date?"

"March twenty first, nineteen ninety," the second one said. "Would you please take the serum now? We need to verify your identity, and see if we can send you back."

Still gobsmacked, Harry absently poured the small vial onto his tongue. The feeling of peace went through him, and he felt like he was being imperioused. Pushing that back a bit, the questions started coming.

"What is your name?"

"Harry James Potter." Interestingly enough, he was able to hold off on his hyphenated last name of Potter-Black. Still though, the two Unspeakables gasped a bit.

"What was yesterday's date for you?"

"July 30th, 1996." More rapid inhales.

"How did you travel in time?"

"I don't know."

"How long have you known that you are a metamorphmagus?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Explain why your hair is changing colours."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

A mirror was placed in front of him, and he could see that his hair was a shocking shade of light blue. "What colour is your hair?"

"Somewhere between sky blue and lavender?"

"How long have you known that you are a metamorphmagus?" the first one asked again.

"About two seconds."

"You didn't know about that ability?"

"No."

"What happened to you yesterday that involved magic?"

"The clock struck midnight, and I was saying Happy Birthday to myself like I do every year _since no one else cares_, when the front door was blasted in. I thought it was my uncle at first."

"What happened then?"

"I heard Vernon shout '_Get out of my house_!' before he started screaming in pain. I forced my way out of my room to see Tom Riddle using the cruciatus on my uncle. Petunia screamed from the kitchen."

"Who is Tom Riddle?"

"Lord Voldemort."

There were more sharp inhales. "How do you know that?"

"The phrase 'I am Lord Voldemort' is an anagram of 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'."

"Do you know anything more about him?"

"He's a half blood, born to a near squib Merope Gaunt and a rich muggle, Tom Riddle."

"What happened after your uncle was tortured?"

"Tom used the killing curse on my aunt to quote 'shut her up', before I tried to hit him with a disarming jinx."

"Were any of his followers with him?"

"No. I can only assume that the blood wards prevented it."

"Wouldn't they prevent him from entering as well?"

"I doubt it. Pettegrew used my blood to create the homunculus body that Tom's using now."

There were hushed whispers that Harry couldn't understand, before the questioning resumed. "Did you duel Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"After trading a few hexes, and dodging two torture curses, he tried to hit me with the killing curse. Like it did before, I hit the spell with one of my own – _a stunner instead of a disarming jinx_ – and that strange cage thing happened again."

"Describe the cage."

"Golden, it started where our spells hit each other and surrounded the two of us in the living room. Dumbledore said that it happens because our two wands use phoenix cores from the same phoenix."

"Interesting. What happened next?"

"He must've been prepared for this, because he brought out a second wand and hit me with another spell."

"Do you know what it was?"

"No."

"Can you describe it?"

"I saw a flash of green, before a golden ray hit me in the gut. Hurt like hell."

"What happened next?"

"I saw a room of white and talked to my godfather."

"Who is your godfather?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

More hushed whispers. "What did you talk about?"

"He said that my scar was an accidental horcrux that Tom had just eradicated. He then told me to have fun, and that I had his permission."

"Permission for what?"

"I don't know. I woke up here with a splitting headache."

"Give him the antidote."

Harry tasted peppermint, then blinked rapidly. "What the hell? I barely remember seeing Sirius, much less talk to him!"

The second one held a placating hand out. "Calm down, Mr. Potter, and we'll try to explain."

The first one spoke up. "We found remnants of a magical block on your core. Tell me, do you feel tired at all?"

Harry blinked, looking confused. "No, and that's weird. I'm _always_ tired."

Nodding, the first one spoke again. "That coincides with our theory. I can only assume that the second spell tore the block apart. The release of your magic must have reacted violently against the cage that you described. Since Phoenixes are immortal, I can only assume that the colliding energies tore a hole through time and pulled you through it."

"What about Voldemort?" Harry asked, quite alarmed. "Was there another body?"

"There was a left hand found not far from you," the second one said. "It could have been from a homunculus."

Harry's grin was feral. "Now _that's_ one hell of a self fulfilling prophesy. Take that, ya bastard!"

"Prophesy?" the one on the left of the bed asked. Harry gave up on figuring out which was which.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "There's one in the Hall of Prophecies that basically said I was the one that had to kill him. Or, he would kill me. It was a bit ambiguous on that part." His smile actually reached his eyes.

The one on the right shook their head. "Don't celebrate just yet, Mr. Potter. From our point of view, that hasn't happened yet."

"Way to kill the mood, there," Harry said with closed eyes. "What else do I have to do?"

"Well, we can't just send you back. We could put you in stasis, but there's no way of knowing if that will work with you or not," the one on the right said.

"Why not?" Harry asked, opening his eyes in a scowl.

"You're magical core is quite large, Mr. Potter, and would fight it," the one on the left said. "That was why we tried to determine how you arrived. If it was an actual spell, we could have arithmetically reversed it. As it is though, this looks like a rather _spectacular_ accident."

Harry's hair turned a deep scarlet as he laid back on the bed, swearing. "Bloody buggering shite! What the hell else?"

"You could simply finish school," the one on the right said. "You finished your fifth year, yes?"

"It was my OWL year, yeah," he nodded. "Don't suppose you know a way of retrieving the results?" he asked with a hopeful expression.

The one on the right chuckled. "Sorry, no. However, we can give you a refresher so you can take them again."

"Wonderful," Harry said in a flat tone. "More tests. Wait, does that mean I get to go back to Hogwarts? How would that work?"

"We would set you up with a false identity," the one on the left said. "If you give a magical vow to not change history, that is."

"And if I don't?" Harry challenged.

"We simply hold you in the DoM for six and a half years so you aren't tempted to cause a paradox," the one on the right said. For a voice that was distorted, it sounded awfully smug.

"No way," Harry shook his head, which now sported a dark blue head of hair. "Not being cooped up for that long. I'd have flashbacks of the damned cupboard, and try to break out within a year. What do I have to do?"

They looked at each other at the mention of a cupboard, then the one on the left handed Harry his wand. "Simply hold your wand vertically and say the following: _I -your name goes here- do solemnly swear on my magic that I will not try to change history as I know it. This I vow._ Then there's a flash of light that seals it. If you break the vow, you lose your magic."

"No pressure," Harry deadpanned. Thinking about it, he had an idea. Doing his best not to smirk, he held his wand up. "I, Harry James Potter, do solemnly swear on my magic that I will not try to change history as I know it. This I vow." He then ended that with a silent _lumos maximus_.

Not feeling anything abnormal with himself, he looked at his wand rather oddly, then _lumosed_ the tip of his wand verbally. "Weird. My wand doesn't feel right." While honest, he hoped that would distract from him not using Black on the end of his name. A prank of literal historical proportions, he was sure.

The one on the left reached through the obscuring charm on the hood to rub 'his' chin. "Might have something to do with your magic not being blocked now."

"Is that why I can think more clearly, and not be quite as depressed as I think I should be?" Harry asked.

"It's possible," the one on the right said. "Would you like a new wand, Mr. Potter? We can have one made for you."

"Sure," Harry nodded. "No idea how I'm going to pay for it though. I have a feeling the goblins won't recognize me. I could prove it with blood, but I think that would cause problems for my eleven year old self when he gets there."

"We can set you up with an account under an assumed name, Mr. Potter," the one on the left said."

He nodded with a smirking grin. "Okay. I'll pay you back in six years."

"Don't do that," the one on the left said.

"Do what?" Harry asked.

"Change your face to look like Sirius Black," the one on the right said.

Harry shook his head and tried to focus on what he remembered in the mirror. "That better? Didn't realize I was doing it."

The one on the left looked at the one on the right. "We're going to have to tutor him on that ability."

"I would agree," the one on the right said. "For now though, what name would you like to be known as, Mr. Potter?"

It came to him in under a split second. "James Aries Blake," he said with a grin. "Call me an orphaned muggleborn, from a stray squib line in the Black family and it'll work." He paused and looked at the ceiling. "I seem to remember a Jim Blake in my first year, now that I think about it."

"What house?" the one on the left asked.

He tilted his head. "Hufflepuff, I think. He had a yellow tie, so it would have to be, wouldn't it?"

"That shouldn't be a problem, Mr. Blake," the one on the right said. "Now if you'll excuse us, we can get the paperwork started. The medi-witch will bring in something for you to eat. Do you want breaky or lunch?"

"Breaky's fine, thanks," Harry said with a grin.

After they left Harry Potter, the two entered a side room and pushed their hoods back. "Well Andy, what do you think?"

"It's definitely Harry Potter, Croaker," Andromeda Tonks said. "What's so damned scary, is that he doesn't even realize he's morphing."

"Reminds me of your daughter," Croaker said while writing up some request forms.

She had a pensive look on her face. "That's what troubles me. He's going to be in her year this fall."

"Do you think there will be a problem?" he asked. "He could even get some pointers from Nymphadora."

"Hence the problem," Andromeda said. "She's never met someone like herself before. What really scares me, is the possibility that she will look at him as boyfriend material."

Chuckling, Croaker looked up from his desk. "Andy, there are mothers the world over that would love to have The-Boy-Who-Lived as their son in law."

"She's too young!" Andromeda protested loudly.

"Which is why I think you would make a decent role model for him," Croaker said. "Did you catch the hints he gave about his home life?" He continued when she nodded. "I don't think anyone else could teach him as well as you or her. Besides, you already know the steps for metamorphmagus self control."

"I'm too young to be a grandmother!" she shouted.

Laughing riotously, Croaker shook his head. "You're getting ahead of yourself, Andy. We'll set him up at the Cauldron. I want you to be his tutor. We can set him up to retake his OWLS in May at the Ministry."

Nodding, she looked away somewhat subdued. "Do you think he was abused by his relatives?"

Grumbling, Croaker went back to the paperwork. "I'm certain of it."

"Don't forget to look up James Blake, just in case there's one at Hogwarts already," Andromeda said.

* * *

Harry stared at his reflection. It was almost three months since his backwards jaunt, and he didn't recognize himself. He could if he focused on what he used to look like, of course – _his base form_ – but the inside of his head was vastly different as well. He just wasn't as depressed as he used to be. It could be the fact that Sirius was alive now, but there was something intrinsically different about himself.

Yes, he still berated himself over the DoM fiasco that got Sirius killed, Hermione severely injured, and Ron somewhat 'brained'. Luna and Neville held themselves up rather well, despite the situation. Ginny was a surprise powerhouse with her reductor spell, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

All the same, looking at the ersatz reflection of a younger Sirius in the mirror he was practising, he couldn't help but wonder at the strangeness of his life. He had to force himself not to march down to Surrey and blast Vernon and Petunia into paste. Pushing the thought of his ten year old self to the back of his mind, he tried to focus on his reflection.

It was truly odd to have Tonks' mum be his tutor. She'd only been told his pseudonym, and ended up calling him Jimmy during their sessions, much to his annoyance. He hated lying to her – _especially since she called him a distant cousin_ – but he didn't have a choice in the matter. That was the only thing that really stank about the situation.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. While he didn't have to worry about his younger self's first year just yet, he did worry about having to deal with Quirrel. From what he'd read, Quirrel was the muggle studies professor for this year. He was grateful that he didn't have to put up with that class.

And speaking of classes, he decided not to take CoMC or Divination. Instead, he was spending most of his time going through arithmacy and runes courses. Reviewing for his OWLs was a bit frightening. With the block and horcrux gone, he found that he had a near eidetic memory. It wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it was too damned easy to think lately. His focus was instinctual.

Other than the metamorphmagus lessons that Mrs. Tonks taught, she was getting him accustomed to occlumency the _right_ way. Snape's version gave him a resounding headache, and after reading about the process… Well, he wanted to hex Snape's bits off. Ironically, occlumency made learning about his metamorph abilities that much easier. Compartmentalizing his thoughts and emotions enabled his appearance to be that much more stable.

He still had mood hair though, much to his consternation.

For his face, he was able to hide his now extremely faded famous scar, and settled on a similar look to a younger Sirius. Never could get the eye colour right, though. Instead of the storm grey eyes, he had to settle on an odd shade of blue. It didn't make any sense at all, since his eyes used to be green. Still, that off shade of blueish violet was the most stable. He tried red once, but that was too much like snake butt, and was rather startling to look at. Freaked Andy right out when he did it in front of her.

That was something else that threw him. His sense of humour was out of control. Instead of being sullen and moody all the time, he joked and punned like mad. It was fortunate that he could hold his new look, as he spent a lot of time in the Alley, cracking the shop owners up.

His new wand was a bit of a wonder. Thirteen inches of mahogany with a double twisted core of griffon and phoenix feathers, it resonated better with his magic than his old wand did. His control over spells was more fine as well. Just how much did that block and bit-of-Voldie keep him down?

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he tried to settle his hair – only to give up and let it be a shoulder length light blue. His last OWLs were today, and he didn't want to be late. Arithmacy and Runes were moderately difficult in his opinion, and he'd wowed the charms practical with his patronus.

And, that was another thing that had changed. Instead of Prongs, _Padfoot_ leapt out of his wand. There was a thought about how Sirius' naming him the Black Heir might've changed things, but Ink – the Unspeakable that was on his right when he first woke up – told him that his patronus could change over time. Then there was the whole unbound core that could've done something about it.

If he didn't know any better, he would've thought Ink was just as surprised at his patronus as he was. That was interesting.

* * *

Entering the Ministry, Jim Blake let the guard mark his wand before heading toward the testing area. The theory shouldn't be a problem. He was actually more worried about the practical, mostly because he found out the day before that one Alistair "Mad Eye" Moody was going to be giving it.

"All right, Jimmy?" a feminine voice sounded out from his right as he entered the main waiting area.

He grinned when he saw her. "Sure thing, Mrs. Tonks. Piece of cake."

She frowned at him. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Andy?"

Harry snorted. "As many times as it takes you to call me Jim, looks like."

They chatted and bantered for a while, before he was called in.

* * *

"That was a complete waste of time," Harry grumbled as he came out of the testing room.

Andy looked up from her book, and was thrown by his jet black hair. "I think you underestimate yourself."

"That's not what I meant," he said as he stopped next to her. "That was so easy, I'm not sure how I thought I'd miss anything."

Andromeda stood with a smirk on her face. "Are you saying you aced it?"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm saying," Harry nodded with a frown, before he perked up with a grin and light blue hair. "Lunch? My practical is at one. I'm buying."

* * *

Coming into the testing room for the DADA practical with a hand on his wand, Harry didn't immediately see Moody anywhere. Drawing from his arm holster, he muttered, "_Homenum Revelio_."

A blue outline appeared to his far right, and he immediately threw a shield up. It deflected a disarming jinx, and Moody's laugh filled the room. "Excellent! Oh, I'm going to _enjoy_ this."

Seeing that Moody had _both_ of his real legs, Harry was never more scared in his entire life. Screw Moldyshorts, Mad Eye was insane!

* * *

"Well?" Andy said as she saw Jimmy stumble out of the room. She stifled her chuckles at the sight. Knowing Moody like she did, there was no doubt as to what went on in there.

Harry stared at her with a hollow expression and limp black hair. "That man… is a _nightmare_! How in the name of Merlin is that maniac not sectioned?"

Losing control of her snorting, Andromeda started laughing. "He's like that. Makes him the best Auror we've got."

"I believe it," Harry said. "Can I go home now? I think I broke my spleen."

Doing her best to not laugh and failing, she had to ask. "Did he get on to you about your hair?"

Said hair switched to light blue as he perked up. "He told me that it was distracting and a perfect target."

"Anything else?" Andy asked with a skewed smile.

"Said to look him up after I graduate. Apparently, I'd make a damn fine auror."

Andy gaped at him. "He complimented you?"

"Shocked me as well!" Harry shouted with a large smile.

* * *

The remainder of the summer was spent in a routine. Wake up at 5:30 and run; breakfast; study till noon; spend a few hours in the DoM; fool around in the alley till six; then have two hours of tutoring with Andy.

August 15th had Harry dancing. He'd passed all of his OWLs with distinctions in DADA, Charms, and Potions. He had double E's in Arithmancy and Runes, but that was all right. He was more focused on Wards, and EE's were fine for that. Transfiguration had a 'simple' O. McGonnagal would've been proud if he could tell her.

The one thing that he tried to put out of his mind, was that he knew that Tonks was Andy's daughter. He never brought it up, and she hadn't either. Which was fine for both of them. While he didn't know why she was pensive about it, he hadn't noticed since he was just as concerned with it for different reasons.

September 1st was a complete ruckus. Harry'd saved up enough galleons for a three compartment trunk that had a runed shrinking charm. For that alone he was grateful, as he simply pocketed it. One compartment was solely for his new clothes and school uniform. The second one was for his books, while the last one had his potions supplies.

A few days prior, Harry's heart was broken when he found a young Hedwig in the Emporium. She flew to his shoulder immediately, but he had to put her back. A quick word with the proprietor, as well as a few galleons, ensured that Hagrid would buy her next year. He ended up leaving without any sort of animal due to guilt.

So, it was a harried Harry that did a double-take when Andy and Ted showed up at the station at the same time he did… with Tonks in tow. She was literally gaping at him with wide eyes at his light blue hair.

"Hello, Mrs. Tonks, is this your husband and little sister?" Harry asked with a grin.

She was stuck between a scowl and a smirk. "It's _Andy_, Jimmy,"

"_Jim_, Mrs. Tonks, I've told you…"

"…and yes. This is my husband Ted," she continued without a blink, "and our daughter, Nymphadora."

"Mum!" Tonks shouted in protest. "How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that?"

"She'll never learn," Harry said. "I don't know why I bother, honestly."

"Too right," Tonks said with a nod. "And mum! You never told me he was a metamorphmagus! Why Not?"

"Hello, Jim," Ted said, shaking Harry's hand. "Andy's told me a lot about you."

"Everything's a lie," Harry deadpanned with wide eyes. "I didn't do it. Nobody saw it. You can't prove anything." Andy and Ted smirked while Tonks started laughing riotously.

"Oh, I like him," Tonks said. "Can we keep him?"

"I dunno," Ted said. "There's no telling where he's been."

"Oi!" Harry baulked. "I'm clean and don't wet the floor, thank you very much. No nits either, I'll have you know."

"All right, all right. Settle you three," Andy said. "Jim, you have a good year. Now let us alone while we embarrass our daughter."

Harry nodded. "I'll write as often as I can, Mrs. T. Good to meet you Mr. T. You don't like aeroplanes, do you?" he asked with a grave expression, before turning to leave. He was grinning his face off as he entered the train, hearing Tonks laugh like mad at the pun. This was going to be a good year.


	2. Play it Again, Hatty

_**'HP: Dolen Amser'  
**__Chapter Two  
- Play it Again, Hatty -_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I don't own squat, save for the plot._

* * *

Oddly enough, Harry found an empty compartment in the middle of the train. He was barely plopped down when Tonks came in, dragging her trunk. "There you are! Give a lady a hand?"

Harry smirked and golf clapped at her. Before she got too mad, he stood up and got a hold of her trunk. "Sorry. Couldn't resist that one." He winced from the slap to the back of the head, and put her trunk up while chuckling. "So. You're the reason Andy's so good at teaching morph stuff?"

"Yeah," Tonks said as she sat down. "You're the reason we've had take out for a couple of months?"

"Sorry about that," Harry said sheepishly as he sat across from her. "I was a real mess. Had a block that blew the circuit breakers when it failed, then I'm the sixteen year old _'who the hell is that, and did it hurt' _bloke. She's been a godsend, your mum. I can at least hold a face now. Still have mood hair though."

Tonks just sat there, staring at him with an odd grin on her face.

"What? Did I mess up?" he asked, feeling his face with his hands.

She shook her head and wiped an actual tear from her face. "Don't be offended, but I _have_ to do this." With that, she half stood and hugged him. "I thought I was alone," she whispered. "Everyone wanting funny faces, or boys wanting big tits, or some film star, or some shite."

"Hey," Harry said, patting her back. "Sit down." Pulling her to sit next to him, he conjured a hankie and blotted her eyes. "You want to talk, I'm here. Get a lot of flack, myself. So, you need a vent or something, just gab at me. I _definitely_ understand." Absently, he drew his wand to lock the door and hit it with a notice-me-not charm.

* * *

A fourth of the trip was spent in a fit of tears, venting, and outright shouting over how stupid people could be. Harry gave as good as he got, and ended up agreeing with the majority of what she said.

The next fourth was spent getting to know each other. Their sense of humour was on par, and both thought it hysterical that the easiest hair colour they could do was the stereotypical gender. Light blue for him, light pink for her.

While he couldn't go into too much detail about his past, he was able to tell her that he was an orphan; his transfer was directly related to his metamorph block coming down; and he thought the wizarding world was full of hypocrites – to which she agreed most emphatically. Not once was he dishonest, but he was skirting the line there in a few places.

Her past was a bit more involved. Since she was raised in a wizarding family, she never had a block and had spent years trying to enhance her talent – which was the direct opposite problem that he had.

Halfway through the trip, Tonks noticed that none of her friends had showed up. He apologized for 'fixing the door', and undid it. Realizing that he saved her from crying in front of other people, she yanked him by his collar and planted a firm kiss on his lips with a 'thank you' and a huge smile.

It wasn't ten seconds after the notice-me-not was down, before someone was knocking on the door. After it slid open, a fair haired bloke lit up with a smile. "Tonks! Been looking everywhere for ya, mate!"

"Tony! Get your arse in here," Tonks said with a grin. "Jim, this is my Quiddich fellow Beater, Tony Rickett. Tony, this is Jim Blake, transfer student and fellow sixth year."

"Nice to meet you, Jim," Tony said, shaking his hand. He flopped across from them and eyed their hair. "Trying to be charming?" he asked, wondering about Harry's hair.

"No, it comes natural," Harry deadpanned.

Snickering, Tonks explained. "He's a late bloomer metamorphmagus. Me mum's been teaching him the basics all summer."

Frowning, Tony gave her a look. "Wouldn't that be more your bag?"

"I know!" Tonks complained. "Didn't tell me shite until four days ago. And then! She didn't even tell me that he's a metamorph!"

"Probably thinks you'll run away with him," Tony said with a grin.

"Tempting," Tonks said, looking at Harry with a smirk. "_Very_ tempting."

Noticing how they both weren't blushing, Tony decided to distract them. "So, Jim. You play Quidditch?"

"Seeker," Harry replied without thinking about it. For some reason, he couldn't stop looking in Tonks' eyes.

"Seeker?" they both cried. "Oh, please tell me they sorted you as a badger!" Tonks begged.

"Yeah mate," Tony nodded with wild eyes. "We lost Thompson when he graduated."

Harry blinked and looked over at Tony. "Wait. What were we talking about?" _Oh hell, keep your head in the game Potter!_

"You. Quidditch. Seeker. Hufflepuff." Tony enunciated. "You play seeker, right?" At Harry's nod, he grinned. "Any good?"

Swearing to himself, Harry just nodded. "Not to be immodest, but I'd like to think I'm a bit of all right."

"You _definitely_ are," Tonks whispered, before catching herself. "Wait. Quidditch. Right. You get sorted yet?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope. They wanted to wait, and watch me make a spectacle of myself after the firsties are done."

Snorting, Tonks grabbed him by the collar again and pulled him so that they were touching noses and were going crosseyed, trying to look at each other. "When they put the hat on you, you think Loyalty, Hard Work, and the Colour _Yellow_. Get me?"

"Got you," Harry whispered.

There was a sigh from the other side of the compartment. "Dammit. New guy. Metamorph. And the one we love is all over him like jam on toast."

When Tonks didn't even flip him off, he sighed again. "Break her heart and I break your face, Blake," Tony said quietly.

* * *

After the trolley went by, they tested Harry's Seeker skills by having him catch jumping chocolate frogs, and were suitably impressed.

* * *

The last fourth of the trip had the pair of metamorphs trying to outdo each other in cracking Tony up. First, they did impressions and reproductions of comedy acts with the actual faces and voices. Then, they started punning and joking of the more _colourful_ variety until the poor sod had to visit the loo to avoid an accident.

They really got him without even trying. As they stood to fetch their uniforms, Tonks noticed something was missing. "Jim? Where's your trunk?"

"It's in my pocket."

"Ohhhh," she nodded. "So _that's_ what that was."

Harry lifted one eyebrow. "Wouldn't _you_ like to know?"

"Oh I definitely would," Tonks said under her breath, while Tony was red-faced from laughing so hard.

"Stop it! You're killing me!" Tony complained.

* * *

After they got off the train, the bellowing of 'Firs' Years o'er here!' had Harry in a bit of nostalgia. He spied a few familiar redheads going about their business, and marvelled at how young everyone looked. Tonks ended up taking him by the arm over to the carriages.

Completely unthinking, Harry went to the front of the carriage to pet the thestral – which nickered at him. Tony's "What're you doing Jim?" had him swearing at himself again.

Tonks saw Jim's hair turn black while it looked like he was patting the air. Gasping, she stepped up to him and didn't realize her own hair went natural. "These are thestrals," she whispered.

"I know," Harry replied.

Looking up at him, Tonks could see that his actual eye colour was green. "Your parents?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," Harry whispered.

Patting his back, she nodded. "C'mon. You went natural. Let's get you in the carriage."

Snapped out of it, Harry's hair went light blue out of reflex. He glanced to see Tonks looking at him with so dark it might as well be black hair, and deep purple eyes. "Only fair," she said. "Saw yours." Smiling gratefully, Harry let her lead him to the carriage door while she fixed her hair up pink.

* * *

Harry was stopped from going into the Great Hall by Professor Flitwick. "Mr. Blake. If you would have a seat and wait for the first years, Professor McGonagall will tell you what to do for the sorting."

"All right," Harry said, before turning to Tonks. "Save me a chair?"

"Damn right, I will," Tonks grinned. "C'mon, Tony, we got us a new Badger to plan for."

Chuckling, Flitwick conjured a chair for Harry to sit in. "Planning on wearing yellow, Mr. Blake?"

"Absolutely," Harry grinned.

Harry waved at most of the passers by with a smile on his face. Their confusion as to what he was doing out there was rather comical. After everyone was in, there was a bit of a wait. He still wondered why the staff had the first years climb all those bloody steps from the lakeside dock.

While he was contemplating digging his trunk out so he could fetch a book, the outer doors opened. Seeing Professor McGonagall lead the first years through made him smile. He about came undone, though, when he saw an eleven year old Cho Chang looking positively terrified. _There goes that crush, _he thought to himself.

"Ah, Mr. Blake. Good Evening," McGonagall greeted him as he stood up.

Harry took her by the hand and kissed her knuckles like a gentleman. "Pleased to meet you, Professor. I've been told there's some form of sorting?" There were stifled snickers from the first years at his smirk.

McGonagall's stern appearance wavered slightly. "Yes, Mr. Blake. If you could wait here until the Headmaster calls for you?"

"Of course," Harry nodded. "Hey kids! You excited yet?" There was a small chorus of 'yes!' from several of the new students. "Me too!" he grinned wide.

He sat again and listened to the sorting. Cho went to Ravenclaw just like last time, and he rolled his eyes at the thought of it being different. Then he heard Dumbledore's speech.

"Well done, everyone. Now, I'm sure you were wondering about the young man that was sitting at the door. He's a transfer student that will be in his sixth year here. Professor McGonagall, if you please."

"Blake, James!" McGonagall called out.

Coming through the doors, Harry's smirking grin was out in force. "Hi everyone!" he waved. Looking over the different house tapestries, his hair mirrored their house colour as he looked at them, before settling on his standard light blue. Posing for a moment, he let his inner Sirius out. "Jim Blake: All around sexy beast! Signed photos available by owl post!"

While everyone laughed at his antics – _and a back remark of 'You Wish!' from Tony _– there was a droning baritone from the head table. "Oh, no. _Another_ one."

Looking up from Tonks' smile, he saw Snape scowling. "And hello to you too, Professor," he said with a grin. That got some additional snickers. Sitting awkwardly on the rather small stool, McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head.

"_Well well well, you're early, Mr. Potter," _the hat said in his head. _"Or rather, you're here again? What's this?"_ There was a sudden pressure in his mind. _"All right, we're conversing at the speed of thought now. The outside world is going at a crawl for us. I can see what happened to you, Mr. Potter. I must say, that was an unusual combination of spells."_

"_Any idea on what it means?"_

"_I'm afraid not. And, you've changed a lot since you were here last. I can see burning loyalty towards those that have earned your trust. It's overpowering your bravery. Although, you are rather clever, as well as quite cunning."_

"_Badger, then?"_ Harry asked.

"_You have a lot to do in a short amount of time. Six years. But don't count Dumbledore out yet. Use this time wisely, Mr. Potter."_

"_So, he's really on the side of light? With all the crap that happened in my life, I was starting to wonder."_

"_I think you'll find that you only have yourself to blame for that. You're in your own past. Think about that."_

While he was mulling it over, the Hat spoke aloud. "Better be … HUFFLEPUFF!"

Tonks shot straight up with a shriek of "YES!"

Tony was right beside her. "We Got A New Seeker!"

The hat was pulled from his head, and he saw the entire Hufflepuff table standing and clapping. Turning, he saw Snape's sneer. "Relax, Professor. We really don't bite unless you poke us with a stick," he said with a smirk. Grinning his face off, he walked and skipped over to plop next to Tonks – who proceeded to hug the stuffing out of him.

"Well done," Dumbledore said, quieting the hall. "Well done. Now that everyone's been sorted, I imagine everyone's rather peckish. Gnish! Gnash! Gnosh!" And with that, the hall was suddenly filled with all sorts of dinner.

"He's an odd one, isn't he?" Harry said, chuckling at Dumbledore's eccentricities. "And what's with the human bat up there? It's like he swallowed a lemon or something."

Laughter sounded around him from his comments. "Dumbledore _is_ odd, but he's wonderful all at the same time," Tonks said. "The bat's Professor Snape. He teaches potions and is head of Slytherin house."

"Potions," Harry commented as he filled his plate. "That makes sense. However, why is he using a potion protection potion while he's not teaching? That's just not right. I mean, look at that hair!"

More laughter, and Tonks leaned on him. "Oh, I like you. I'm so glad you got sorted properly! We're gonna take the school by _storm_ this year!"

A blonde haired bloke leaned forward to look around Tony. "Blake? You're a seeker?" Harry just nodded as his mouth was full. "Brilliant! We lost Thompson. Think this Friday we can get you up on a broom?" Harry nodded again. "Fantastic! Alex Truman, by the way. Quidditch Captain and Keeper."

Chasing his chicken down with some pumpkin juice, Harry leaned back so he could shake Alex's hand from behind Tony. "Jim Blake. Hope to do my part!"

"Outstanding!" Alex beamed.

At the head table, another discussion was going on along the same lines. "A Seeker!" Sprout beamed. "Oh, we may have a _chance_ this year!"

"Don't count my Lions out just yet. Charlie's a seventh year, remember?" McGonagall said with a shrewd look.

"I don't like him," Snape said. "Looks to be just as arrogant as Miss Tonks. Small wonder."

"Don't you _dare_, Severus!" Sprout glared. "Blake's in _my_ house. You even think of despoiling that young man, and you answer to me! He passed all of his OWLs, and got an O in Potions to boot!"

Severus sneered. "We'll see."

* * *

From Dumbledore's post feast speech, the majority of Zonko's best selling items were all on the banned list, with 197 items counted. After he was finished, the fifth year prefects started guiding the first years out of the Great Hall.

Tonks had an armlock on Harry's elbow, as she half dragged him toward the Puffs' common room. "Is it just me, or are the kitchens close by?" Harry asked, sniffing the air.

"Yep," Tony said from the other side of Tonks. "If you want a late night snack, just go to the painting of the fruit and tickle the pear."

"Interesting locking mechanism," Harry said. "What do you have do to get into the loo?" Tonks laughter outshone everyone else's at that lurid thought.

Since the door was already opened by the time they got there, Harry had to ask. "So, is there a password, or is there some unseen barmaid that we have to tip to get in the door?" he asked, eyeing the casks of… _something_.

"It's a knock," Tonks said. "I'll show you later, promise."

Coming into the common room, Harry was floored that the Puffs area was so damned _homey_. Comfortable looking sofas, chairs, and what had to be loveseats were all over the place, with what looked to be a literal plethora of pillowed lapdesks sitting hither and yon next to all the furniture. There were two hearths on opposite sides of the large room, and a ground floor window that looked out towards the lake.

"Oh, I can _really_ get used to this," Harry said quietly. "It's like Gygax and Tolkein had a lovechild in designing the place. I love it!"

A snickering Tonks led Harry over to one of the smaller couches. He wasn't going to label it a loveseat now, no matter how much he'd like to. While the upper classes all scattered, Tonks had him wait for the first years lecture.

"What's going on?" Harry whispered.

Tonks grinned at him. "Just wait. You'll see."

The main door opened and Pomona Sprout came in with a large smile on her face. She looked around and spotted Tonks with Harry and nodded approvingly. "Welcome to Hufflepuff House, everyone. Here, we look after each other. The rules are rather simple and straightforward. If you see a fellow Puff in distress, help them out or get help from a Prefect or Professor. If someone asks you for help, do your best. And if you can't, see about finding someone who can. There's nothing we can't do with a little work, and we do our best work together. But, that isn't to say that it's all nose to the grindstone here. If you see a friend burning out on their studies, get their mind cleared out by having them do something else.

"The main rules than need to be followed by you firsties are very simple. Be in bed by Nine, and get to class on time. The Fifth Year prefects are the ones you should go to first if you have questions, but that doesn't mean that you can't come see me. My office is right down the hall from the main door, and I always have it open. Now, I'll leave you to the Prefects, while I introduce our other new fellow to how the Puffs do things around here."

The male Prefect ushered the boys down one stairwell, while the female did the same – _up_ some stairs, before they could be heard going down again.

Harry thought that was odd. "Okay, why do the girls go up, _then_ down?"

"Because the stairs are trapped for when you boys get frisky," Tonks said with a grin. "They turn into a slide and set off the ward alarm."

"But that would mean that the girls can just simply go down the boys side," Harry argued. At Tonks nod, he frowned as his hair turned a darker shade of blue. "That's sexist!"

Watching the interplay, Pomona started laughing at what she was hearing. "Of course it is, Mr. Blake. It's the way the world works."

Realizing they were overheard, both of them blushed – which caused Sprout to laugh again. "Oh my! It's been a while since I've seen you turn red, Tonks. And, I can assume that you have just as much control over your colour as well, Mr. Blake?"

"Not at the moment," Harry mumbled.

Smiling, Professor Sprout motioned Tonks up with a finger. "Off you trot, Tonks. I need to show Mr. Blake his room now."

"Glad you made it in here, Jim," Tonks said as she hugged him. She then popped up. "Breakfast at seven?"

"You got it," Harry said, watching her bounce up the stairs.

Seeing the look on his face, she had to ask. "Known her long, Mr. Blake?"

Harry stood while shaking his head. "Just met today at the train station. Her mum's been teaching me how to control my abilities over the summer. Never thought I'd meet someone like me. Thought I was a freak for sure, but now…"

"She's a good girl, Mr. Blake, but she's been hurt by a lot of idiots. I don't think you'll do that to her, though."

"I'm not sure what you mean, ma'am," Harry said, lying through his teeth. They discussed all of that on the train.

Sprout led him down the stairs. "Well, with her abilities, a lot of people only say they like her for _what_ she can do… not _who_ she is."

"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "Had a bit of that bother my own self. Doubt I could do that to someone else… _especially_ her."

A soft smile on her face, Pomona stopped at a door. "This is your room, Mr. Blake. Normally, there would be two per room, but there are only five Sixth Year Puffs this year. The others have been friends for a while. Is this going to be all right?"

"Should be fine. Never really roomed like this before, but it's no problem."

"No wild parties after hours, Mr. Blake," Sprout said seriously. "I know you're new to this, but I can tell she really likes you."

Harry turned his head and stared at her, wide eyed. "I think it's a bit soon to think of things like that, thank you very much. I haven't even done something like that before, and wouldn't even know how to start!" he said, breathing rapidly.

"Calm down," Sprout said, patting his arm. "I wasn't accusing you of anything, just getting the word out in advance. I know you haven't really had anyone in a parental role before, but if you need to talk about things…"

"Thank you," Harry said, flushing scarlet. "Uhm. I think I'll just unpack now and go to bed."

"I'll have your class schedule for you in the morning at breakfast, Mr. Blake. There's a rules pamphlet on your bedside table. It's the standard that all the firsties get. It has a map, a list of the professors, and some common spells. Good night, and welcome to Hufflepuff."

"Thanks, Professor Sprout. I can already tell I'm going to like this place."

She smiled at him as she closed the door. While all of her Puffs were her children in her mind, not knowing his history was bothering her. With that thought, she made a beeline for the Headmaster's office.


	3. Belfry

_**'HP: Dolen Amser'  
**__Chapter Three  
- Belfry -_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I don't own squat, save for the plot._

_It's been pointed out that Harry's way OOC or had a personality transplant. Well, we all know how people react when they have a horcrux nearby, or are wearing one. So, what about one in your own head? Seems like it would be depressing to the Nth degree. Only someone with enough 'something' would have been able to keep up with that little parasite. This story has that 'something' being a near insane level of humour, like his father. With it now gone, Harry's free to lighten the hell up. More than one character is going to think that he's related to Sirius, though. Heh_

_Oh, and yes. This is rated M for a reason. Nothing will happen for a while, but when it does all bets are off. Fair warning.  
_

* * *

"Sugar Quill," Professor Sprout said to the gargoyle. It shifted, and she made her way up the stairs. She didn't even have to knock, as the Headmaster's office doors were standing wide open.

The Headmaster was looking a bit relaxed for once, sitting back in his chair and reading the _Quibbler_ of all things. He looked over the periodical and smiled. "Ah, good evening Pomona. All of your new badgers are well settled in, I trust? Lemon drop?"

"Yes they are, and no thank you," she replied, taking a seat. "I was hoping to discuss our new transfer student. Have his records arrived yet, Albus? Normally, I get to know all my students as they grow over the years. But now…"

"You want to know what to expect with Mr. Blake, and how to best serve his needs?" Albus said with that endearing and insufferable twinkle in his eye. "Perfectly understandable, my dear. And yes, I received his transcript from the Waitangi School of Sorcery and reviewed it this afternoon. I'll make it available for all of his professors in the morning."

"Waitangi?" Pomona said, somewhat surprised. "He doesn't sound like a Kiwi."

Nodding, Albus speculated. "Ah, yes. But remember that most muggleborn students have a tendency to migrate out of Britain after they graduate. And, you know the restrictions the Ministry places on them as to what jobs are available. Sad to say. I abhor bigotry of any sort. As I understand it, the orphanage to which he was placed is staffed by British immigrants."

Nodding, Pomona didn't have much to say about that. Her look of disgust said enough. "And, what of Mr. Blake?"

There was a smile in Albus' voice. "While it was noted that he has a rather sarcastic wit that tends to get him in trouble, he's an honours student. Young James has excelled in DADA, Charms, and Potions. His OWLs show distinctions in those three, I'm happy to say."

"So, why the transfer?" Pomona tried to get to the heart of the matter.

Nodding, Albus looked over to the various silver bobbles on the far table. They've been behaving oddly for quite a while, much to his consternation. At least the one monitoring the blood wards was still functioning properly. "His sixteenth birthday had a bit of a surprise. It would seem that his parents had a metamorphmagus block placed on the lad as a toddler. After their unfortunate accident, no one knew to remove it before he went to school."

Sitting back, Pomona was shocked. "I would've assumed something like that would pop when he came of age. Oh, the poor boy."

Nodding, Albus agreed. "Apparently, there was an incident in the school's duelling club. A misspoken spell and zigging when he should've zagged had Mr. Blake out of sorts for the better part of a week."

Wincing, Pomona had a thought. "I would assume that he was brought to England in order to better control his new ability?"

"Indeed he was," Albus nodded. "Mrs. Andromeda Tonks is well versed in instructing the lad, as you know. She's been scheduled to come in once every two weeks to check up on his progress." He paused, grinning. "From her outburst at the sorting, it would seem he got rather close to Nympadora over the summer."

"You'd be surprised," Pomona countered. "They only met on the train."

Albus' bushy brows went up. "Indeed? I would imagine it was a bit of a shock for her, then. There aren't that many metamorphmagus in the world, and to find a boy that's like her…" he trailed off.

"She does seem to be quite taken with him," Pomona grinned. "I have a feeling that those two are going to be the talk of the castle before too long."

"Ah, to be young," Albus smiled.

* * *

_Harry was duelling Voldemort in the cemetery again. Tom's imperius was being countered by his own inner voice as he bowed. _'Don't listen to him!'_ his conscience was screaming. _

_Suddenly free, he stood up sharply. _

"No!"

Harry was startled awake, and quite a bit confused. He remembered seeing a shimmer off to the far right of that duel, somewhere in front of one of the tombstones. He never thought anything of it before, but he now knew what that type of distortion was: Someone was either disillusioned or under an invisibility cloak. _Was that me?_ he wondered.

In his state of befuddlement, he felt around in the dark. The bed was both familiar and not all at once. While exceedingly comfortable, the scent was off. There wasn't any snoring going on, and it was pitch black in the room. Groping about, he couldn't find his glasses or his wand.

Frustrated, he mumbled _lumos_ and found that his wand had rolled off the bedside table. He stared at it for a moment, wondering if it was mocking him.

Fetching it, he realized where he was as his eyes focussed on their own. One of the numerous advantages of his metamorph capabilities was a reflexive perfect eyesight, so his glasses were long since gone.

Yawning, he looked about the Hufflepuff dorm. He was by himself in a room set for two. More strangeness. "If only Gryffindor was like this," he mumbled. "Wait," he shook his head. "That doesn't matter anymore."

Wishing for some coffee, he held his wand over his watch to see 5:32am. _Right. I was going to go for a run before breakfast. No, wait. Breaky at seven with the bubblegum haired one. Right._ Yawning again, he set an alarm spell for thirty minutes later and rolled back under the covers.

Running around Black Lake seemed different somehow. He couldn't quite put his finger on what had changed, though.

No one was out that early except the squid, who waved languidly at him on his second lap. Mostly, Harry used the time to both run and go over his mental shields and defences. Running while meditating was unusual to be sure, but things seemed to be more in focus when he did.

Harry smirked when he realized that no one was out to kill him this year. He didn't even notice that his light blue hair had spiked at the top of his head.

Coming out of the en suite shower, Harry had a towel around his middle and another that he was using to dry his hair. So, he didn't quite notice that he wasn't exactly alone.

"Wotcher, Jim," a voice sounded from outside his towel space, causing him to freeze mid-step. Peeking out from under the towel, he eyed a smug looking Tonks, who was grinning her face off on his bed.

"See? Sexist!" Harry complained. "If I did this, you'd be hexing my bits off. Unfair, that is. Now close the drapes while I get dressed."

Pout in full force, Tonks closed the bed off. "Someone's grumpy this morning. Half expected to wake you up, not find a yummy walking washboard, all dripping and everything."

Boxers and trousers on, somewhat sticking to his skin, Harry couldn't hold in his chuckles. "Blimey, Tonks. Andy'd shred me alive if she saw this. I'm decent now, by the way."

He heard the four poster open rather violently behind him. "Oh, I dunno. If she could see what I see, she'd most likely tell dad to shove off."

"Yeah, let's talk about Ted," Harry said while pulling his undershirt on. "Would he or would he not try to make me up as a kebab, in a situation like this?"

"I thought you'd _like_ a pretty girl in your room," Tonks said with a full toddler pout and big eyes.

"That's beside the point," Harry said, grinning over his shoulder at her. "Tell me something. I could've sworn my ties were black and grey, and what's with my robes? There's yellow piping and the Hufflepuff crest on them already."

"Oh that," Tonks said as she stood up. "The Hogwarts House Elves take care of the firsties colours and whatnot after they're sorted. They did the same for you. Complaining?"

"Hardly," Harry said as he buttoned his shirt. "Thought I was going to have to do a permanent colour changing charm, and figure out where to get the crests for the robes." Standing up straight, he raised his voice. "To the elf or elves that helped me with my wardrobe: Thank you so very much. It's greatly appreciated."

Smiling at what he did, Tonks armlocked his elbow again. "C'mon, you. Breakfast! Leave the robes. It's Sunday, after all."

Harry blinked. "Right. And why'd you let me get all done up, then?" he complained, only now noticing she was wearing a black 'Weird Sisters' tee and denim trousers.

"You forced me to hide while you got dressed," Tonks said seriously. Their look at each other lasted a beat, before they both started laughing. She spun him about and pushed him back towards his wardrobe. "Right, you. Jeans, shirt, trainers! I'm showing you the two knut tour of the castle today!"

"There's a pun in there, but I'm too much of a gentleman to say it," Harry deadpanned.

Snickering, Tonks just shook her head. "You're worse than me. Now hurry up! Chop chop! I'm starvin'!"

* * *

After breakfast in a near empty great hall, _where they discovered that they had matching class schedules_, Harry spent the day listening to Tonks as she went on about the places she showed him. Half of it was redundant, and mostly the classrooms.

All the same, he marvelled that someone was actually taking their last day of freedom to show him around the castle. What was surprising, was that she knew of a few side passages that he never saw before.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Tonks asked as they approached the quidditch pitch.

Harry smirked. "My thoughts are nutty enough without you adding to them, thank you very much." They shared a small snort. "It's just that things are so different."

"I would imagine being on the other side of the world is a bit disorienting, yeah?" Tonks said with a nod.

"Certainly feels like it," Harry hedged.

Tonks looked over and up at him as they walked. "So, what was Waitangi like?"

"A lot smaller," Harry replied. He'd gone over several pensieve memories of the school with the Unspeakables, so this was rather easy. "The magical community isn't all that large down there. This place is flippin' huge in comparison."

There was a rustle by one of the stands, and an amused voice spoke up, interrupting them. "Pay up."

There was a small and rather disgusted sounding, "Shite," for an answer. They saw a disgruntled Tony and a highly amused Alex. "Oi, Blake. What's 'earth micks'?" Tony asked, looking at Harry's shirt.

Looking down, Harry snorted. "_Eurythmics_, Tony. Squib band. Rather popular with the muggles. Annie Lennox has quite the lovely voice. One would think she has siren blood."

Tonks flapped her hand. "Yeah, whatever. Weird Sisters is where it's at." She looked at Alex and Tony. "What's with the bet, and what was it over?"

In answer, they both pointed between them somewhere around their waists. Harry and Tonks immediately looked to where they were pointing, and noticed that they were holding hands. The boys then started chortling when both of their heads sported lavender hair to go with their pinking faces.

"Uh," Harry said lamely. "I don't remember starting that. You?"

"Me neither," Tonks shook her head, then looked up at him. "Problem?"

"No," Harry said just as quietly. "You all right with that?"

"Yeah," she replied, eyeing him warily. "You?"

The corner of Harry's mouth lifted, causing hers to do the same. "Yeah."

"Fuck," Tony swore under his breath as he handed the tall blond five gold coins. "You suck, Alex." Looking at Harry, he glowered. "Hurt her and I hurt you. Got that?"

Harry's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "Oi, mate. We just realized we were holding hands and are fine with it. If anything comes out of it, I'm pretty sure it'll be her idea. Mainly, b'cause I'm pants at this sort of thing."

Tonks started smirking. "Good. I can train you up right, then."

Harry's head snapped to his right to gape at her. "Oh, bugger." That caused the other three to start laughing, since his hair turned lime green.

"All right, all right," Alex said. "What broom you got, Blake?"

Harry's hair went back to it's light blue as his face lit up. "Cleansweep seven fifty. Really want a Nimbus though."

"Cor, who doesn't?" Tonks said.

Alex had a thoughtful expression on his face. "That'll work. Want to do some drills today? I know I said Friday, but since we're here…"

Harry and Tonks shared a look to gauge whether or not the other was fine with that. With matching shrugs, they turned back to Alex and said, "Sure."

"Broom's still in my trunk though," Harry tacked on.

Tonks fidgeted. "Could we eat first? It's lunchtime, and Jim can grab his broom after."

* * *

Lunch was more of a snatch and grab of sandwiches. Since the four of them were together, the three chasers caught on to what was happening and cut their lunch short. A few fourth and fifth years noticed, and came along as well – along with one third year boy. All in all, it turned into an impromptu and abrupt trial session.

Harry noticed what was happening and nudged Tonks, who had hold of his hand again. "Don't look now, but I think we've got a following."

She smirked. "There are a lot of hopefuls for seeker this year. Little Digs is really wanting it."

Doing his best not to react, Harry realized who she meant. Cedric was a third year now, and quite _alive_. He couldn't remember when he actually started playing though. An idea was forming, but he wasn't sure how to go about it just yet.

As for the trials, it was no bloody contest. Not impaired by glasses now, Harry was an absolute demon in the sky. On a whim, _mainly because he just found out that Tony was a seventh year_, Harry nabbed a beater bat and went a few rounds with Tonks.

It was three in the afternoon, when Alex threw a jersey at Harry. While pleased, he really didn't like the depressed look on Cedric's face. The others didn't bother him, but he remembered going against Cedric in his first year.

With a look to Tonks and Alex, he trotted over to Cedric. "Oi, Digs! Hold up a sec!"

Tonks watched Jim talk to a dejected Cedric, who slowly lost his sad look to an expression of an awe filled smile. His high pitched _'Really?'_ got her attention. She, Alex, and Tony shared a confused look when Jim patted the boy on the shoulder with a wide grin and cycling hair colours.

"What'd you say to him?" Tonks asked as Jim came back, all smiles.

Giving Tony a look, Harry explained. "Since this is your last year, I told Digs that I'd teach him the finer points of seeking. If he gets up to snuff by next year, I'll take Tony's place as beater and let Digs have the seeker position."

"Now wait a minute," Alex complained. "I'm the ruddy captain here, Blake."

"And Cedric is almost there, Alex," Harry countered. "You saw him. He was only off a few times, and most likely that was due to nerves. Think about it. The Puffs need a well trained seeker after we're gone. Besides, unless you flunk, this is your last year, so you really got no say in it." He followed that rant with a rather mature blown raspberry.

Laughing, Tonks pointed at Alex. "He's got ya there, mate!"

Unnoticed by everyone, Pomona Sprout watched on and was well pleased. She couldn't wait to gloat it over with Minerva and Fillius, and had a bounce in her step as she headed back to the castle.

* * *

Dinner was a rowdy affair, as word spread about the Badgers' new seeker. Three captains all eyed the new kid warily, since the look of confidence on Alex's face was more than a bit troubling. He was far too pleased, and that was bad in their books. Since the Hufflepuff trials were scheduled for Friday, no one was on hand to see what the fuss was about.

Seeing Professor Sprout obviously talking about it with a bright smile didn't fill them with confidence either. While she normally had a sunny disposition, she was positively radiating now.

Word also quickly spread amongst the Badgers that Tonks had tentatively snatched up the new guy. While most were disappointed, there was the de-facto rule amongst the sisterhood to not get in the way and defend the claim from the other houses. It was a shame though. They all thought he was quite dishy. The blue really worked.

* * *

Monday mornings were going to be a test of patience, as the Puffs and the Claws had double potions followed with double history. Harry wasn't sure if he was looking forward to it or not. Fortunately, Tonks said she was going to be his partner for most things, and that made everything better.

Snape burst into the room with his usual rapid gloom. "Somehow or another, you dunderheads all passed your OWLs with an Outstanding. So, there will be no coddling for your NEWT level courses."

Rather than comment on the coddling remark, Harry shared a raised eyebrow with Tonks, who simply shook her head over it.

Calling the roll, Snape paused when he came upon the new name. "Blake, it seems you passed your OWL with a _Distinction_," he drawled. "I'm not sure what you were taught at Waitangi, but we will see if they were lax in your education soon enough."

"Actually sir, I took my OWL's at the British Ministry last May," Harry couldn't help defending himself. There was no way he was going to let the greasy git get away with this crap any more.

Snape looked up with an actual expression of surprise on his face. "Who was your Examiner, Blevins?" he snapped with a sneer.

"I think her name was Madame Archunct, Professor," Harry said with a perplexed look.

Snape blanched, as that ancient hag was more difficult than he was. He then stared at him with a frown. After a moment, he continued the roll sounding a bit sulky.

After that was done, Snape stood up in an attempt to regain his composure. "Pop quiz review! Everyone is to brew an Ice Potion. You have an hour and forty five minutes. Go!"

Tonks was beside herself. Jim actually stood up to Snape and didn't have any points taken. It was completely unheard of!

Watching Blake, Snape monitored the boy's technique and was reluctantly impressed. He prepared each ingredient beforehand while his cauldron warmed. His style with his knife was rather impressive as well, as he sliced the mushrooms and crushed the knockwood peas. He saw Miss Tonks notice that Mr. Blake's peas didn't jump about and imitated him.

He would've called her on it, but both of them had hair of a deep shade of purple. If Blake was anything like Tonks, that meant they were both deep in concentration. Again, he was reluctantly impressed. This was bothersome.

Distracted from his musings, his head snapped to the right of the room. "Ten Points from Ravenclaw, Mr. Collins! This is not an open book test! Start over!"

Seeing the clear shade of yellow green, Harry was done a full fifteen minutes early. Giving Tonks' cauldron a sidelong look, he nodded at her with a grin as he filled the test vial. Stoppering it, he wrote J.A.B. on the label, then went to Snape's desk with a blank expression on his face.

Eyeing Blake's sample, he let a drop fall onto the test parchment. Seeing the results, his eyebrows went up. Holding the vial up to a candle, he nodded. "Well done, Mr. Blake. I'm actually impressed. You may not be a dunderhead after all. Ten points to Hufflepuff."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said calmly as his hair turned a bright light blue. "Potions is an art form, and I take it very seriously, sir."

Snape nodded. "Indeed."

Tonks almost fainted. Several others nearly joined her.

* * *

Binns was his usual droning bore, but Tonks kept Harry awake with her continued disbelief over her getting an O on her test as well. By the time dinner rolled around, people were starting to wonder if it was the apocalypse. A certain pair of redheads had actually checked outside to see if the sky was falling.

* * *

That evening, Andromeda and Ted Tonks opened the window to let a Hogwarts owl in. They both read the letter at the same time.

_Mum & Dad,_

_Jim was sorted into Hufflepuff, and made the Quidditch team yesterday. You should see that boy fly! We may actually have a chance at the cup this year!_

_I'm still mad that you didn't tell me he was a metamorphmagus, mother. Didn't you think I would've wanted to meet him? Honestly!_

_Something else he did today was the talk of the castle. He actually defended himself from Snape and didn't get any points taken! THEN! He goes and brews a perfect Ice Potion! Snape actually GAVE POINTS! I almost fainted!_

_Needless to say, I already staked my claim. The other girls were snotty about it, but they agreed to watch out for the other houses. And don't start on the lecture, either of you. Of anyone, Jim understands where I'm coming from, and he's so damned funny!_

_Love to you both!  
Dora_

_P.S. I swear, if I get a howler about dating him, I won't send another letter till after Christmas! I'm serious!_

Ted looked over at his wife. "You all right, love?"

Andy simply stared at the letter with mixed emotions and wide eyes. Harry Potter snared her little girl. She knew she should be happy for her, but at the same time that damned prophesy scared her to death!

Frustrated, she looked up to the far wall with a resounding, "SHIT!"

Ted's laughter at her reaction wasn't helping at all, and she glared at him over it. "It's not funny!"


	4. The Past is Another Country

_**'HP: Dolen Amser'  
**__Chapter Four  
- The Past is Another Country -_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I don't own squat, save for the plot._

_New Bookcover seems to be satisfactory. Doing Daniel's hair was a real pain, but I think it came out all right. Would've preferred it to be a bit lighter though. Work on that later. Is it just me, or do they look like something straight out of anime?_

_This chapter fought me, and I'm still not satisfied with it. Going out as is though, because I'm getting tired of the struggle._

* * *

_**September**_

The-Boy-From-New-Zealand was making an impression amongst the professors. Snape's only comment at the first weekly meeting of, _'He's… acceptable,'_ was just the start.

Sprout was impressed with how he handled his Venomous Tentacula. His use of a variant of the stunner spell that encompassed the entire plant, instead of hitting it one vine at a time was brilliant in her opinion. That was something not normally taught until seventh year.

McGonagall was pleased with his Bird-Conjuring Charm, as he got it on his second try. However, she noted that he wasn't taking the course very seriously. While it was ingenious, purple and pink crested love birds weren't quite what she had in mind.

The same was mentioned by Flitwick about the Water-Making Spell, with the only difference being that he did it on his first attempt. Blake's follow-up of changing it into ale earned him extra credit.

Vector actually gushed over the lad, saying that Blake had the utmost politeness – though that might have had something to do with how he first greeted her, with a gentlemanly kiss to the hand. His background with Arithmancy was sketchy, but he was handling it rather well.

Babbling was just as enamoured by the young man, and said that his only problem was the tendency to write runes freehand. Although, she did say that his examinations of the proper devices normally used were… _'intense'_.

"So," Dumbledore summarized for their first meeting, "We can all agree that young Mr. Blake is settling in to Hogwarts rather well, yes?" The only one that didn't nod was Snape, of course. "Excellent. Now, we need to focus on…"

* * *

Tony wasn't sure what to do with himself. It was no secret that he carried a torch for Tonks, but then again so did a lot of other Puffs. He was so certain that he'd get up enough courage to ask her out this year. Then Blake came swanning in, bollocking that all to hell and gone. It didn't help that Jim was so damned _nice_, either. He actually liked him, when he wanted to hex his bits in.

So needless to say, he was at a quandary. It was the end of the second week, and everything came to a halt in his head. What was really perplexing, was the fact he was grateful that it wasn't that prat Weasley – _Charlie, not Percy_. Percy had a permanent quill up his backside… backwards. Charlie was so full of himself that he wondered if there was a hidden twin somewhere in his head. And speaking of, their little twin brothers were always amusing. Thankfully, they took after their eldest brother, Bill, who was a rather nice bloke.

"You're sulking," Alex said from across their shared room. "What's got your feathers ruffed, Tony?" The glare he got from his best mate made him smirk. "You know she does what she wants. Be _happy_ for her."

Looking back at his feet at the end of the bed, Tony equivocated. "Dunno what you're talkin' 'bout." Okay, so that was more of a denial.

Chuckling, Alex laid it out for him. "Mate, I've known you since first year, so don't pull that with me. You've been pining over her for two years, and cursed the idiots that upset her. That, more than anything else, set you up as a 'big brother' or worse… put you in _'The Friend Zone'_," he said dramatically. "So, tell me one thing: Do you love her like a sister, or just 'love' her?"

Blinking, Tony stared at nothing. "I'm not sure," he eventually said.

"Least it wasn't Charlie," Alex said, goading him.

"That idiot wouldn't know a good thing, if it bit him on the arse!" Tony shouted.

Laughing, Alex shook his head. "With all the time he's been spending with Hagrid lately, looks like he'll get that chance."

Tony looked at him, completely confused at the non sequitur. "Huh?" was his intelligent response.

"Rumour has it, Charlie's thinking about making dragons his career," Alex explained.

Tony smirked. "Maybe we'll get lucky, and he'll get scorched at the interview."

* * *

A similar scene was happening in Tonks' room. Her dorm mate Bridget Spiers was laying back on her bed, oscillating between reading a book and glaring at Tonks. Feeling eyes on the back of her head, Tonks turned from her desk. "What is it?"

"You're a bitch, you know," Bridget blurted.

Brow up, Tonks tried to remember anything she might've done lately, and came up short. Her hell raising was rather light, this early in the year. "What'd I do?"

Harrumphing, Bridget stared back at her book. Stared, as opposed to reading. "Nothin'," she grumbled."

Frowning, Tonks left her desk to sit on the side of her bed. She tilted her head sideways, so she could see her better. "I've been ignoring you, yeah? I'm sorry. Whatever I did, tell me so I can fix it."

"Not that," Bridget shook her head slightly, then placed the book down on her chest. "You can 'ave anyone you want, and you go after the new guy quicker than you can say Quidditch."

"Oh." This was going to be one of _those_ conversations. Sighing, she got up and went back to her desk.

Sitting up, Bridget began to get irate. "Oh? Is that all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say?" Tonks asked in a monotone. "Thought of everyone, you'd understand."

"What's to understand?" Bridget said a bit louder. "So he's like you! Big deal! At least give someone else a shot! I mean, _come on_! Can you think of all the _things_ he could do?"

Ice settled at the bottom of Tonks' stomach. Standing slowly from her desk again, she turned to face her dorm mate. "Like what, Spiers?" she asked in a flat voice. "Become the lead singer for whatever pop crap you're listening to lately?" her voice went up a few notches. "Maybe he could stir your honey pot in ways you never _knew_?"

The crimson hair and frigid stare told Bridget she might have gone too far. Of course, the sudden stinging hand print to the side of her face was a rather blatant clue as well, solidifying that thought.

"How _Dare_ You?" Tonks shrieked. "You _know_ the shite I've had to put up with, and now you want to do it to _him_?"

Holding her face with her mouth wide open from the pain, Bridget back-pedalled rapidly. "Dora, I…"

"Don't you '_Dora_' me," Tonks snapped. "Do me a favour and _don't_ talk to me." With that, Tonks grabbed her Charms homework and left the room.

"Tonks!" Bridget called after her.

She didn't even look back. "Fuck off, Spiers!"

Several girls were busy trying to vacate the hall – _or stood still, acting nonchalant and not looking at her –_ but she didn't care. She knew where she was going, and didn't give a flip who noticed.

Stalking through the common room and scaring a few of the younger years, Tonks went down the boys stair. Two lefts later, she entered Jim's room without knocking.

Startled from his own homework, Harry looked up and saw a very upset pseudo-girlfriend. Her eyes were glistening, and her hair changed from crimson to oscillating between various colours as soon as she closed the door.

He stood up, and immediately went into combat mode. She didn't look physically hurt, but if someone did anything, the hexes were going to fly. "What happened?"

Dumping her homework on the unused bed, Tonks made a beeline for her boyfriend. Wrapping him in a clinging hug, she buried her head under his chin. "Why?" she said under her breath as she fought her tears.

Right arm around her back, left hand cradling her head, Harry felt her shaking and was trying his best _not_ to demand the name of the soon to be dead person. Rocking her slightly, he murmured, "I don't know. Are you hurt anywhere? Did something happen? Who do I need to hex?" he fired off rapidly. "Who was it?"

"No one," she mumbled. "Jus' Bridget. She's been there for me with all the talk and the boys and the name-calling and now she wants to do all of… _that_… with _you_." Giving up, her tears spilled out. "I thought she was my _friend_!" she blubbered.

"Damn," Harry said under his breath. He couldn't exactly go off on a girl for being stupid, or thoughtless. Honestly, he looked at it as if it were another fangirl after him. But now he had to be consoling, and was rather pants at it.

After her small breakdown ebbed to light hiccuping, he conjured a handkerchief for her and started mumbling. "I dunno what to say. I'm sorry."

"Don' haff ta say noffin'," she snuffled through the handkerchief. After she got the majority of the wetness gone, she looked up at him. "I _swear_ I won't do that to you. It's _demeaning_ and _embarrassing_ and _insulting_ and…"

Harry hushed her with a kiss. Unlike the occasional pecks they've been giving each other over two weeks, this was a real snog. Two minutes later, their mouths parted and closed. "Thank you," he whispered as he rested his forehead on hers. "Thank you for standing up for me. I was about to do the same before you told me who it was. Although, I think bolts of light and screams would've been involved."

Tonks giggled slightly and leaned back to pull his head down. "Thank me again."

It was the next morning before either of them realized that their kissing reduced them to their base forms. Thankfully, Harry either kept his scar hidden or Tonks simply hadn't noticed it. His hair had grown a bit after all.

* * *

They ended up sleeping in the same room – _in different beds to start with, thanks_. Harry woke up the next morning, only to find that Tonks was cuddled up to his back. Yes, that was awkward, but it was rather nice all at the same time. Apparently, he'd had another nightmare and she settled him. That was both interesting and informative for each of them.

They eventually got up late for breakfast, where he told her he had an appointment in the hospital wing. Of course, she had to come along and invited herself. Alex and Tony both shrugged at their departure, and went back to eating.

Arms around each other's back, a familiar face became visible when they turned the corner in the hospital wing. Tonks was floored, and her hair briefly turned stark white. "Mum! What're you doing here?" she shrieked.

It was at that point that Harry wanted to hide in a very deep hole. Instead of letting go of him, Tonks clamped herself more firmly to Harry's side. The look on Andromeda's face made that feeling peak. "Uhm… Morning Mrs. Tonks," he mumbled. His mortification was rather blatant with his deep lavender hair.

Looking at each of them in turn, Andy had the expression of a scientist examining protozoa under a microscope. "Morning, Jimmy," she said with a singly upturned brow and a smirk. Turning slightly to her daughter, she explained. "I'm here for his bi-weekly check up. You're going to be seeing a lot more of me this term, dear. Now what's this about you and Bridget getting into an screaming match?"

"Oh, shite," Tonks said under her breath. That was going to be a real dampener on her fun this year. Holding her chin up, she took the high road. "Bridget had the audacity to try to con me into letting her use Jim like so many boys attempted with me," she said with a haughty voice. "I showed her the _error_ of her ways. It involved a hand print and her left cheek. They were introduced to each other with a rather loud smack."

Head cocked, Andy looked to Harry. "And what do you think about that?"

Swallowing, Harry forced himself to speak. "It's been my experience to not get involved when ladies argue, until the wands come out. Otherwise, there's jeopardy towards my person."

Grinning with pink hair again, Tonks turned her head to look up at him and patted his chest with her free hand. "Good boy."

Andy aborted a chuff of a chuckle, which ended up sounding more like an inelegant half snort. "We'll talk about this later, dear. For now, I need to run Jimmy through the drills." She may not have liked the situation, but it was hard not to smile at their antics.

* * *

The drills consisted of colour changes of skin, hair and eyes; adjusting nail and hair length; and the ability to hold said changes for a specific time. Harry also entertained her with the faces he had learned, and completely unnerved her with how accurate he got with Snape's.

While that was going on, Tonks sat with Poppy to simply watch someone else go through it for once. It so reminded her of her own upbringing, that she realized just _how much_ her mum helped her.

"You all right, dear?" Poppy asked, seeing the look on Tonks' face.

She nodded with a small grin. "Yeah. Just remembering what a force of nature me mum is. She ran me through these for years, and seeing Jim go through them reminded me."

Andy heard that and flicked her eyes towards her daughter. The hint of a soft smile was present when she decided to tweak her a bit. "So, Dora. If you fell out with Bridget last night, where did you sleep?" Violet hair and pink faces from the two teens said it all, and Harry lost his current morph in abject and stark terror.

"Common room!" they both lied at once. Andromeda's laughter overshadowed Poppy's attempts to keep a straight face. The school's mediwitch just earned twenty galleons from various people in total. As per their agreement, half of that was going to her insider: one Pomona Sprout.

* * *

When Andromeda returned home that afternoon, she slumped into her husband's arms and lamented over her daughter growing up. If she had either of their abilities, her hair would be stark white over it.

* * *

The second half of September and most of October was as blasé as the first two weeks of school, on the surface at least. Tonks absolutely refused to speak to Bridget; and the sisterhood stood behind her when they found out what had happened. It got so bad, that they had a rearrangement of rooms – shocking the house.

If anyone saw pink or blue hair, blue or pink hair was found right next to it. Jim and Tonks went everywhere together, and had publicly acknowledged their relationship. This of course crushed a lot of witches, and infuriated a lot of wizards. More than once, Jim had to fend off leers and intimidation over the matter.

Classes continued without much fuss. The only notable exception to the norm, was that Snape didn't berate Jim hardly at all. Jim's expertise with potions wasn't challenged, and there was an honest question and answer session over various ways to both improve the potency of some potions, and trying to discover a way to make skelegrow and skeleknit not taste like yak piss, and have them work as well.

Needless to say, they didn't succeed. But it wasn't from the lack of trying though. Harry was determined, and made it his end of year thesis for the class.

Kyle Pike on the other hand, _the local timeframe equivalent of Draco Malfoy – and elder brother of Kris Pike, whom Harry pranked along with said Malfoy with invisibly thrown snowballs,_ was another matter. While he wasn't as blatant as Malfoy, he was one of the ones that started rumours. One of which stated that Jim Blake was 'Nympho' Tonks long lost twin. This disgusted most, but no one figured out who began that rumour.

However, his snide remarks in public were a fair bit smoother in application than Malfoy's. Instead of confrontations, he would talk about them as if they weren't there. This was countered by Harry and Tonks discussing the hazards of inbreeding. Even though they were outwardly talking about different breeds of dogs, it was still an interesting series of 'non confrontations'.

The Weasley twins had a pool going as to who was going to draw wands first. Current odds for the colourful duo at ten to one against.

Quidditch practice gained many observers from the other houses, much to Alex's annoyance. Oddly enough, the tutoring sessions that Jim was giving to Digs seemed to gain more attention than the practices. Harry was bothered to find out that Charlie was one of the 'stalkers' in that respect. Not knowing the other two, he guessed they were the other two seekers from the colouring of their ties. Both were seventh years that he didn't know.

And speaking of seekers, the one for Gryffindor wasn't very fond of the newest metamorph. Apparently, he thought that this was _his_ year to date Tonks. Harry was greatly disappointed with him, since he actually liked the bloke, from the one time they met during fourth year. Fed up with his antics, they took the mickey out of him in the middle of the Great Hall at dinner, when Jim changed himself to look just like him.

Tonks immediate reaction to that put paid to Charlie's plans. "_Cor_, Jim! If I wanted someone _that_ ugly, I would've gone after the original. Change back Now! Good. Now don't ever do that again. Give me nightmares, you will!"

Percy glared at his twin brothers, who were in absolute stitches. Harry, noting the humour of the moment, was halted from his next morph by Tonks changing to look like McGonagall, glaring at him. His response was to turn into Snape. After a comically furtive look around, he snogged her while leaning her back in her seat.

The groans and shrieks from around them had them both thinking that would be a good way to get everyone off their backs. It wasn't to be, though.

"Fifty points from Hufflepuff for that _Disgusting_ display!" Snape roared from the head table.

"Twenty more for making me agree with him!" McGonagall countered. "And detention!"

Their abrupt shift to their 'normal' faces, complete with innocent looks to the head table weren't well received. Their eyes twitched at hearing Fred and George gagging behind them, ruining their expressions. Professor Flitwick wasn't helping with his biting his own hand to keep from laughing.

Their detention with Filch was rather light, considering. He had them polish the trophies, and didn't forbid them using their wands. Harry about came undone when he caught the old fart snickering. Apparently, he hated Snape as much as everyone else. Something to do with Mrs. Norris and a potion 'accident'.

* * *

The Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw match was the first of the year. It was odd for Harry to wear the gold uniform, but he was happy that he was playing again. Since Ravenclaw was the other 'neutral' team, they had a fair match. That said, they slaughtered the Eagles, 220 to 40.

The hardest thing Harry had to do, was refrain from his signature move – which was a sideways Wronski Feint. That, and a few other moves he'd save for Charlie. The wanker still wasn't taking the hint.

* * *

October 31st hit Harry like a bludger when he realized what day it was. Being a Wednesday, he couldn't escape like he normally would, and people noticed that his humour and smiles were forced. He dodged Tonks' questions for most of the day, and asked if he could be alone for the remainder of the afternoon.

Worried, Tonks shadowed her boyfriend and managed not to trip on things for once. Using a not very well done and shimmery disillusionment charm, she followed him to the lake from a long way off. When it was evident that he got to where he was headed, she stayed back some fifteen feet while he crouched and skipped stones over the frigid lake.

She could tell he was upset, and wished he would just tell her what was wrong. However, she nearly broke her charm when he stopped chucking rocks and started to quietly sob, reverting to his normal appearance. Looking about, Tonks cast several notice me not charms.

"Do you hate me, God?" she heard him whisper. "Is that why my life is so fucked? I can't even be _just me_ here either. Hiding in plain sight, without my friends. They're ten now. Well, not Hermione. She turned eleven last month, mum, and won't know me till the train. Miss her bossiness, strange as it sounds. Could do without Ron's laziness, but he was a riot at times too. It is _so weird_ seeing the twins so young."

Tonks didn't realize she was creeping closer until she heard her name, freezing her in place.

"Then there's Tonks. You'd like her, dad. Has your sense of humour, if Sirius is telling the truth. Met her once before the accident, and she even _winked_ at me when we got to Sirius' place. She was gorgeous then, too. Older, sure, but still pretty in pink. Now I'm back here and her boyfriend and it is so… I can't even talk to anyone about this. _Fucking_ Department of Mysteries."

Tonks had her hands up under her chin and was wide eyed at what she was hearing. _Sirius? He's in Azkaban. Not like he'd ever be guilty, but still. What is he talking about? _Her concentration broke, along with her disillusionment.

"I think I love her, dad," Harry whispered. "Never felt that before, and not really sure if that's right or not. Mum, your sister and her family are a completely bigoted and vile, and I think you'd agree with that. So, how the hell do I know if I'm in love or not?"

Harry heard a small gasp, and whipped about. Unfortunately, his legs were in the process of falling asleep from his crouched position, so he plopped unceremoniously on his arse. Seeing Tonks standing there with wide eyes, his brain froze as a nutter threatened to snatch him up. "Oh, God… How much did you hear?" he said under his breath.

The look of outright panic on Jim's face floored her. His hair parted as he fell back, and she gaped at the rather distinctive white scar over his right emerald green eye. _Accident. Met me before it. Don't remember him. His friends are ten. Twins look so young. His face is rounder… Merlin!_

Memories flooded her from years ago. Her parents taking her to visit the Potters often when she was six years old. Those same sharp green eyes she lost herself in. Completely adoring their baby boy, _and an embarrassing display of possessiveness when she announced to everyone that she was going to marry him someday_. Cuddling him to her chest and rocking him. The cries he made when they had to leave for the night.

"H – Ha – _Harry_?" Tonks stuttered through a wisp of breath.

_She knows!_ Harry turned away, throwing his standard morph up with accidental stark white hair. "Shite!"


	5. Bags and Cats

_**'HP: Dolen Amser'  
**__Chapter Five  
- Bags and Cats -_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I don't own squat, save for the plot._

_Yes this has been a while in coming. I've been going back and forth between my three Potter stories, writing. The other two stories should be updated relatively soon._

* * *

_**October 31, 1990**_

"_H – Ha – _Harry_?" Tonks stuttered through a wisp of breath._

She knows!_ Harry turned away, throwing his standard morph up with stark white hair. "Shite!"_

It would've been an interesting scene, had anyone came across the pair. Wouldn't happen from the various notice-me-nots that Tonks had placed around the area, though. She rarely had such a gobsmacked expression, and Jim was absolutely still… something completely unheard of for the fidgety person.

Harry's reaction was his default that he'd tried so hard to eradicate over the years. His arms were locked to his chest, wrists crossed and under his chin, with his knees drawn up to make him as small as possible. True, he wasn't in any danger of being beaten, but that didn't matter because it wasn't rational.

Blinking rapidly, Tonks had no clue what to say. Seeing Harry curled into a ball with white hair floored her, though. White hair for her usually meant terror or fright of some sort, but being all balled up like that reminded her of Terri Ambrose. She was a fourth year now, but her first week of her first year proved to be too much for the poor girl. And, Harry was reacting just like she did, whenever someone yelled or shouted in anger. As it turned out, her father was the worst drunk imaginable. _Oh, Merlin._

Kneeling down next to him, Tonks' suspicions were somewhat confirmed when Harry flinched at her touch. "Harry," she whispered, "Harry, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

As for Harry, he was lost in his own mind. Vernon's purple bellowing and Petunia's screeching wails that he was worthless were the main focus. The rest were images of being stared at when everyone thought he was the Heir of Slytherin, or the cheat everyone thought he was when his name flew out of the Goblet; Cedric dying in front of him; Sirius vanishing through the veil; Hermione being struck down with a dark cutting curse.

It was his own personal hell.

Throughout that entire miasma of images and emotions, he felt a hand on his shoulder. _"Harry,"_ Tonks whispered, _"Harry, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."_

Peeking up through slitted eyes, Harry saw Tonks leaning over him with tears streaming down her face. "Isn't this the point where you hate me now?" he whispered. "I mean, I _did_ lie to you."

"If it turns out you're ten years old, then we're going to have a problem," Tonks said just as quietly. "What did you lie about?"

"Waitangi, my name, and…" His eyed darted around, searching. "Well, that's pretty much it, I guess. I _am_ sixteen, though."

Hearing that caused Tonks to hug him tighter. "Not mad, then. I mean, I just heard you tell your parents that you love me, so I'd be a real bitch if I hated you now." That statement caused him to exhale rather forcibly, and his hair changed to his regular shoulder length black as he relaxed. "How'd you end up here though?"

"A spectacular accident," Harry whispered. He slowly uncurled from his ball, and drew his arms around her, planting his face in the hollow of her neck. He wasn't sure what to feel, but even though he was a Puff now, his thoughts went to his standard: _Gryffindor's Charge._ "Can we talk about this inside? I know a place where we won't be overheard."

Nodding at his hushed request, Tonks pulled back a bit for them to stand, giving him a quick peck on the lips as she did so. Not wanting to be separated, she snaked her arm around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked. His arm around her back was comforting, and they didn't say anything while they walked back to the castle. That didn't mean there were hundreds of questions running through her head, though.

Neither of them noticed the various students they passed, either looking at them fondly or with exasperation. Both views depended solely on how their method of jokes were taken, really. Some were still freaked out over their McGonagall Snape snog session in the Great Hall.

The questions she had in her head had another added to them when they got to the seventh floor. Jim … _Harry_, she amended to herself, was walking back and forth in the hall. Her look of confusion changed to surprise when a door appeared in the wall. "Bloody hell. What is this place?"

"The Room of Requirement," Harry said. "The House Elves call it the Come and Go Room, or the Hall of Lost Things." He opened the door and ushered her inside. He grinned slightly at the look of shock on her face as she entered. "Yeah, that's the usual reaction."

Looking about, Tonks was confused to the nines. The room was a cross between the Hufflepuff and what she assumed was the Gryffindor common rooms – split down the middle with Badger Yellow on the right, and Lion Red on the left. "Wha?" was all she could get out.

"The room configures itself to whatever the initial user specifies," Harry explained. Leading her to the 'red side', he had her sit in a comfy chair that was opposite a matching yellow one. Sitting across from her, he had a pensive expression on his face. "Not sure how to go about this, exactly," he eventually said.

"At the start would be good," Tonks said with a wry grin.

Rubbing his chin, he looked up at her from under his brow. "Assuming that Andy taught you the same as me, is it safe to say that you're familiar with occlumency?"

Nodding, her grin didn't fade. "Had to be. Can't exactly hold a form without it."

"Reason I ask, is that Snape and Dumbledore scan student's minds on a regular basis," Harry said. "Just had to be sure."

Tonks grin faded into a scowl. "Is there a punch line anywhere?"

Harry shook his head. "No."

Standing abruptly, Tonks started pacing the floor muttering obscenities with blood red hair. None of it was understandable. Coming to a halt, she turned to look at him. "How in the name of _Merlin_ has no one found this out?" she shouted. She started slightly, when she realized that Harry had dropped to his base form. She followed his example after a second.

"Would anyone believe that the '_Leader of the Light_' and the '_Defeater of Grindewald_' would do such a thing?" Harry deadpanned. "The same '_Light Lord_' defends his pet death eater for any offence, hence why I don't trust the old bastard."

Blinking once, Tonks sat back down and grabbed his hands. "Tell me everything," she demanded.

His stare at her was a bit uncomfortable to look at. That was mainly due to the outright _haunted_ look he had. It got worse with his next statement and question. "This will change everything you thought you knew about the magical world," he whispered. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"No," she admitted quietly after a moment, "but I just got you back, so I'm not going to run away screamin' or anything."

Harry tilted his head. "Back? What're you on about?"

She fidgeted in her seat. "Mum and Dad used to take me to Potter Manor. Don't rightly know the _whys_ or anything, other than Lily was a friend of Mum's, but I used to play with you before you could walk." Her face pinked as she turned her eyes to 'study' the fireplace. "Made them laugh when their six year old shifty colour haired daughter announced that she was going to marry the boy she was holding in her arms."

Harry's snicker drew her eyes back to him. "So, you were precocious even that far back?" Her rueful grin had him smirking. "Right." Harry paused, then tilted his head the other way. "I accept."

Tonks blinked, completely nonplussed. "Pardon?"

"That was a proposal, wasn't it?" Harry asked with a brow up.

It felt like her heart both stopped and exploded all at the same time. "Ap…" she stuttered, blinking owlishly. Then she gave him a shrewd look. "_Nice_ distraction there, and we'll talk about that later. Now on with the explaining. I want to know why you're sixteen when you're supposed to be ten, and why no one seems to know, and your whole _Danger Mouse / Secret Squirrel_ thing."

Harry swallowed and focussed on their clasped hands. "My ten year old self is still where he's supposed to be. I'm just here as well. Next year is going to be pretty rough avoiding him and letting things happen like they did when I was a firstie."

He looked up and saw her gaping at him. "What sort of magic sends you back in time?" she asked, completely incredulous.

"The _accidental_ kind," Harry said. "Apparently, it's something that happens every now and again, because the Department of Mysteries has a way of tracking people who pop up '_when_' they're not supposed to."

"Blimey," Tonks said under her breath. "I suppose they found you?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a sigh. "Woke up in their infirmary."

"What caused it?" she asked.

Sighing heavier, Harry looked up at the ceiling. "This is the part that will turn your world upside down." He paused, then looked back down to her eyes. "It was a combination of spells that ruptured a block on my magical core."

"Not _quite_ the life altering statement I was expecting," Tonks deadpanned.

His head tilted back and forth. "It revolves around _who_ I was duelling with."

"Which was?" she prodded, getting annoyed.

Looking back at their clasped hands again, he let himself still a bit. "His name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, which is the real name of the self appointed Dark Lord. Most call him You-Know-Who, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I call him The Dark Wanker, Dork Lord, Moldyshorts, and a slew of other things that'd piss him off, but his chosen name is Voldemort."

Tonks became more and more pale with each pseudonym, and was short of breath. Harry's names were amusing, but it didn't make her feel any better. When he actually said the dreaded name, she didn't gasp or flinch, even though her hair was stark white at this point. Instead, tears dribbled out in droves. "He's n-not d-dead?" she eventually got out.

When he shook his head no, she let go of his hands and launched herself at him. Arms around his neck, face buried in the same, she ended up straddling his lap as she came completely unglued. Loud and rather obnoxious sobs came out of her as her heart simply shattered. She had been nearly seven years old when she was told what happened to the Potters, and that she wasn't going to see her tiny playmate again.

Now she had him back, and that _Dark Bastard_ came with him. It was horrendous. It was appalling. It was the most _wonderful_ and _horrid_ day of her life. And it was only after her crying subsided to light hiccuping, that she noticed that Harry was rocking and rubbing her back. He wasn't saying anything, exactly, but there was a rather soothing bit of humming.

"How?" she sniffled.

Harry frowned. "Not sure. Dumbledore said he had a theory, but nothing solid. Then again, the man never answers a question directly. The more succinct an answer you need, the more ambiguous he gets till you can't remember the original question. Another reason I hate him so much. If he'd answered me in my first year, or told me before fifth, Sirius wouldn't have died."

Tonks pulled back enough to look at him without going cross-eyed. "Uncle Sirius?"

Nodding, Harry laid a bombshell. "Sirius Black is my Magically Bonded Godfather."

"Then that would mean…" she said loudly, before catching herself and lowering her voice. "That would mean he could _never_ betray you or your parents without dying. He's _innocent_?"

"Peter Pettigrew framed him brilliantly," Harry said with a completely disgusted voice.

At her expression of horror, Harry explained in detail what happened on the night of October 31st, 1981. Some of it was truly gruesome, as he was able to actually remember what happened that night from his own point of view – one of the _true_ drawbacks of learning the art of occlumency. Then he explained what happened after Sirius left Godric's Hollow, and how Peter was able to frame him with a shout and a severed finger.

She was understandably appalled and rather vocal about the entire thing.

Skimming over the decade of Durzkaban, Harry then explained his first year and the Philosopher Stone Fiasco; second year's Diary and the Madness of the Heir of Slytherin; third year's Dementor Crisis with Sirius's Escape and the Time Turner Trials; fourth year's Tournament of Nightmares; and then fifth year's Tyranny of the Toad.

While Tonks noticed the very brief mention of where Harry was staying before his admittance into Hogwarts, _and intended to interrogate him thoroughly on that later_, she was most disturbed over the escalation that each year seemed to bring. The fact that the youngest male Weasley was one of his best friends was rather fitting in a way. However, she hid the fact that her hackles were up when he talked about Hermione.

Through it all, there was a question left standing in her mind: Why did the staff of Hogwarts allow this to happen, and didn't help them when they truly needed it? When _he_ truly needed it? It simply didn't make _any_ sense whatsoever.

Then it hit her like a bludger in the face: It _had_ to happen that way, because that was how Harry _remembered_ it. Since he was here now, that meant that those five years were etched in stone. This was something that made her grateful for her father's obsession with a time travelling Time Lord, otherwise none of it would have hit her solidly like what she just realized. Any deviations from that could literally unmake him.

That thought made her blood freeze.

"Harry?" she said in the barest of whispers. "I think you need to trust Dumbledore." She held her hand up to his lips when he started to reply, rather scathingly if his glare was any indication. "You said that things happened and you didn't get much help from the professors, right?" She waited for his nod before continuing. "What if they didn't help at those times because they couldn't?"

Confused now, Harry was a bit belligerent. "Why in the nine hells would they not help?" he said in a half shout. "I mean, come _on_! Kids aren't supposed to deal with that sort of thing! McGonagall even turned us away when we knew the stone was going to be stolen! And she left it to a trio of _firsties_ to defend the damned thing! Not to mention the fact that its quite odd that we were able to get through those obstacles at all. It's like we were meant…"

Hearing him trail off with a thoughtful expression on his face, Tonks nodded. "You're _here_, and you know what the first five years of your education are going to be like."

A rather pained expression went over Harry's face. The hat was right. Dumbledore wasn't to blame for any of it. And by extension, McGonagall, Remus, and the others weren't either. He could see it so plainly now. Depending on how things were handled, the Headmaster could use that 'all knowing' rubbish that he hated so much to bamboozle the faculty, and eventually the Order.

Even though he could think more clearly in general, now that his magic was unbound and that bloody horcrux was out of his head, epiphanies like this reminded him of the stabbing pain he used to get with his scar. Only this time it went throughout his entire brain.

Everything he went through at Hogwarts was _his own damned fault_.

Groaning in frustration, Harry looked to the side. "Ohhh… _BOLLOCKS_!"

A small hemming squeak of sympathy came out of Tonks, and she pulled him into as close a hug as she could. Which was interesting, considering how they were positioned on the chair. Smirking, she knew how to get him out of this funk. "Why Mr. Potter, is that a wand in your pocket, or am I one hell of a lucky girl?"

Feeling her squirm in his lap rather nicely, her question struck him as hilarious. Laughing a bit hysterically, it changed into choking sobs of his own. Holding her tight, his whisper was directly in her ear. "I can't do this alone. I thought I could, but…"

"You'll never have to, Harry," she said just as quietly. "I love you." Pulling back just enough, dragging her cheek over his minor afternoon stubble, she snogged him thoroughly with everything she had.

It was a bit over ten minutes later when he replied in kind. "Love you too." She wiped his face, while he did the same for her. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this _mmph_."

He never finished that sentence, because she interrupted him with another lengthy snog session, which turned into a small case of light groping for both of them. They were teenagers after all.


	6. SNAFU

_**A/N:**__ I don't own squat, save for the plot._

_It's been said that Harry and Tonks' relationship is progressing too fast. I disagree. One, I've glossed over a lot of time, as this would be considered a 'dry year' from what usually happens during Harry's time at Hogwarts. Two, Tonks has had a rough time with people wanting her to look certain ways, and has been a rather severe stigma … not to mention her first name and cruelty of kids. Finding someone like her was a shock, then her world went sideways when she found out who 'Jim' was. Three, Harry has had only one 'relationship' (if you could call it that) with Cho Chang, which was a complete disaster. Lastly, they're sixteen. A lot of teenage romances happen either 'suddenly' or have rapid advancement, much to the horror of their parents. I consider this normal._

_As for the last chapter, Halloween has been the defining day for each year, much to Harry's complete annoyance, and I thought it would be ironic if Dora found out about him then._

_Also, since this is more of a character development year instead of action/adventure, this will seem rather lame in comparison. Sorry to those that are griping about pacing, plot, and etcetera. I can't satisfy everyone, and don't intend to try. Did that before, and the horse ended up looking like a camel. Not pretty … and it spit at me. At least it isn't a godlike Harry with so many contrivances to make it a complete farce. Those are fun sometimes, but not what I'm shooting for with this. Here, he's actually applying himself in his studies. His mother was the brightest witch of her generation, and his father really didn't have to study for similar reasons._

_For those that are enjoying this, thank you for your kind support. I do appreciate it._

_For those that are fed up. Thanks for reading, and I hope you find what you're looking for._

_After the 90-91 year and the following summer is over, there will be a lot more involvement with what would be considered action, and or suspense. Some of it will be funny, I think. While others will most likely make one want to pull their hair out. Still, when things roll over to two Potters at Hogwarts, things will get interesting. After the 91-92 year, there will be two people heading for the Auror Academy, and maybe something to do with the DoM. Haven't decided yet._

_Andromeda (Inkwell, who is the resident Healer for the Unspeakables) will come to terms with what's happening in her own time, and I think seeing them every two weeks will make it gradual enough to satisfy everyone. (I hope.)_

_As for drama, there will be such as pertains to certain prats, both male and female. _

_Oh... Snape's seemingly OOC indifferent attitude towards 'Jim' is solely based on Harry's real skills in potions – without the baggage associated with the name Potter. Lily Evans would have been a potions mistress, so this isn't completely out of left field._

_Don't worry, Snape will come to the wrong conclusions and return to the greasy git we love to loathe in the future. Sad really. Happens this chapter too…_

_As for the comment about Harry being 'Dumbledore's Man', please remember: The Headmaster told Harry the Prophesy only after Sirius was dead… and only hours after he was killed. A few weeks later, he gets a visit from the Dark Wanker and is blown backwards in time? So, not so much a Dumbledore man there. At least for the moment._

_Lastly, while there will be 'descriptive content', it will remain just that… descriptive, as opposed to blatant._

* * *

_**'HP: Dolen Amser'  
**__Chapter Six  
- S.N.A.F.U. -_

* * *

November 1st was a Thursday. As such, there were classes that Tonks and Harry didn't want to go to. They weren't being sullen or moody about things. They simply didn't want to get out of bed. It was just too damned comfortable.

Tonks was the first one to rouse, discovering that 'Jim' – _as they'd agreed to call him no matter what, (with hints of 'James' for when she was cross) and him getting the privilege of calling her 'Dora'_ – was cuddling up to her backside. While he was in his boxers, she was only wearing her pink knickers. Grinning with half lidded eyes, she cuddled his hand tighter to her left breast and simply relished the sleepy cuddles.

After Jim's outing as Harry and the afternoon to evening long 'chat' that went with it, they'd missed actual dinner in the Great Hall. Didn't matter too much, as they ended up snacking in the kitchens. Both were too emotionally exhausted for anything else that involved people. Not that House Elves weren't people, it's just that they didn't pester them with questions on their state of mind. And, with a simple – _if transparent_ – showing of going to their respective rooms, Tonks made a not so stealthy departure from her new dorm and into Harry's. _The chair leapt out in front of her… honest._

They didn't really discuss much, save for the fact that the knickers and boxers were staying on. Neither wanted to go too far, as they were both a touch afraid of something _quite_ that involved. That didn't mean that they weren't opposed to 'other forms of activity', though.

It was a damned good thing that Harry knew the silencing charm for the door, as it turned out that Dora was apparently a bit of a screamer. Their lack of going below the belt lasted all of one minute, and _she_ was the one that broke it first. After a bit of that, they both learned something new about their innate abilities:

When one is a metamorphmagus, one doesn't need an enlargement charm for certain organs that usually taste food.

Harry figured it out first by accident, much to Dora's ecstatic delight – _hence half of all the screaming_. Thankfully, thighs proved to be a good dampener for sound. Otherwise, he was pretty sure he'd be deaf.

_Now, if she could actually hold that ultra soprano timbre on purpose, it'd be one hell of an aural assault. There has to be a way of harnessing such things,_ Harry had gleefully thought to himself. _Aural assault … Sirius would have a field day with that._

Dora discovered that Harry was a bit of a moaner when she figured out how he did that. Which is where the other half came from, _along with a considerable amount of feral growling_. He didn't exactly shriek like she did, solely because Dora wasn't a parselmouth. Didn't matter though. It was a first for both of them.

As it was, after they grudgingly agreed that they were awake and had a quick breath freshening charm, they shared a ten minute snog before eventually getting washed and dressed for the day. They then discovered that they had forgotten something rather important.

Exiting the stairwell, the pair were stopped dead by their head of house – who was standing right next to entryway. "Good morning," she said quietly.

Dora's startled squeak and Jim's bug eyed expression, _not to mention their matching white hair_, caused Pomona to have to fight her smirking grin that was threatening her. "I see you've finally roused Mr. Blake this morning Miss Tonks. That's good. Breakfast is over in thirty minutes, and we wouldn't want him to miss a meal now, would we?"

Pointedly ignoring the innuendo, Dora recovered first. "Yes! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" she said rather rapidly.

Eyeing a rather mortified and mute Jim Blake, Professor Sprout nodded. "Do we need to visit Madam Pomphrey?" she asked innocently.

"No!" they both blurted. "No need for that!" Dora said, still talking one hundred and ninety kilometres an hour.

"Are you both being safe?" Pomona asked quietly with a serious expression, dropping all pretences.

"We haven't crossed that line," Jim said a bit hoarsely.

Dora's eyes flicked about, not wanting to look at either of them. "The others were obliterated though," she mumbled.

Pomona had to catch herself in an attempt to stifle a rather undignified snort at that. "Very well. This is your official warning, so no points will be taken. While I know you will be discreet, I'm more concerned about unwanted surprises nine months from now."

She looked at Jim. "Mr. Blake, while you are attending Hogwarts, I am your acting guardian. As such, you and I will have a… _discussion_ this evening." Turning to Dora, she continued. "Miss Tonks, which of your parents should I contact to make sure you understand the gravity of the situation?"

Dora's skin was chalk white now, matching Jim's. "I a-already got '_The Talk_' from both of them. You don't need to involve them at all with this." Their head of house had a bit of disbelief on her face. "Please?" she begged in a whisper.

Pomona kept quiet for a moment, letting them sweat a bit. Finally, she nodded. "Only if you agree to attend the discussion with Mr. Blake this evening after dinner.

"Okay!" Dora half shouted, nodding her head rapidly.

Brow up, Pomona simply pointed to the main door. "Off you trot. Go eat." They were through the tunnel and out the door quite rapidly at that point. Only after it closed behind them, did Pomona let go of her laughter. Stepping through herself, she shook her head. "Oh, those two are going to give me more grey hairs. Thank _goodness_ they're over the age of consent."

* * *

Alex looked up from his plate as Jim and Tonks sat down a bit away from him and Tony. Seeing matching shades of deep lavender instead of their usual colours, he had to ask. "What happened?"

"Nothing!" Jim and Tonks spat out, before looking at each other and flushing a near shade of actual scarlet.

Brow up, Tony pounced on that. "Prank gone bad, or was there an incident with the green menace?" Looking over to the Slytherin table, the lack of snickering and pointing dissuaded him from that last one.

"Nothing's wrong," Harry denied, ladling some eggs onto his plate.

"Mind your breakfast," Tonks said right after, snatching several sausages onto hers.

"Everything's fine," they said together.

From behind them, a somewhat high pitched Gryffindor's voice piped up. "Oi Gred, I think we have some competition."

"I do believe you're right, dear brother," the same voice said.

The twins mock glared at the backs of the usurpers. "That's _our_ gimmick!"

Harry froze, looking a bit comical with his hand halfway towards the serving dish of sausages. He turned his head to look over his shoulder to see the twins giving him two matching hairy eyeballs. _Oh, bloody buggering shite,_ he thought with alarm. _The map!_

An elbow to his ribs from Tonks unfroze him. He waved at the pair with an apologetic look, then he continued filling his plate. Several people noticed his hair become briefly lighter, before he forced it into his regular light blue. "Hair, Dora," he whispered.

"Shite," she muttered, pushing her usual pink out. "Thanks."

Speaking up, Harry started. "Sorry you two,"

"We didn't mean," Tonks continued.

Harry smirked as they intoned together, "to infringe your copyright!"

Two mocking whispers answered them. "Of course you know –"

"– this means war."

"Oh, belt up you two," Percy scolded rather prissily.

Tony slid down the bench and eyed the pair from across the table. "Seriously, what's the matter with you two?"

Sharing a look with Jim, Tonks mumbled. "Had a bit of a run in with Sprout."

Smirking, Tony decided to tease them. "Catch you two in a broom cupboard, did she?"

The fact that they were concentrating so hard on keeping their appearance, was the only reason the two metamorphs avoided their blushing. "Not exactly," Jim said quietly, before forking some eggs into his mouth.

"Bigger than," Tonks said with a prim expression on her face. "No points, but we have a lecture after dinner to look forward to."

Blinking, Tony sighed. "I was joking."

"She wasn't," Jim said, though it was debatable whether or not he meant Tonks or Sprout at this point.

Tonks looked up from her plate to stare at Tony. "Keep it quiet, yeah?"

"Yeah, no problem," Tony said with a look of hurt that Tonks completely missed. "Be careful," he mouthed to her. Her simple smirking wink at him didn't make him feel any better at all.

* * *

The classes for Runes and Arithmancy were rather stale in comparison to their morning 'wake up call'. The only thing interesting in Arithmancy was discovering the procedures required to formulate their own spells. Runes actually covered a basic overview of Warding, much to Harry's delight.

After dinner, two morose teens left the main hall holding hands, and made their way to their head of house's office. Halfway there, Tonks let go and snaked her arm around Harry's waist. He reciprocated around her shoulders.

* * *

The Head of Hufflepuff's office was just as homey as the rest of the house. There was a moderate sized mantle for the fireplace that was made of mahogany, that matched Pomona's desk quite nicely; dark chocolate coloured shag carpet; and even though it was a castle, there was wood panelling that was in between the colour of the mantle and the carpet. All in all, a warm and inviting place.

That said, the chalk white skin and stark white hair of James Blake, aka Harry Potter, stood out like a sore thumb. "_THAT'S_ where babies come from?" he half shrieked.

An odd contrast, Dora was completely amused with the situation. While she was blushing, her hair was still her happy pink. "Where did you think they came from? Did you miss the school's prep test with whomever their medi-witch was?"

Harry's head snapped to look at her with large eyes. Even though he was in full shock over things, he stuck to his cover story, including who was who down under. "I was recovering from a Quidditch accident – regrowing the bones in my left arm – when the rest of my class had theirs. Madam Ellington didn't bother afterwards. Suppose she thought my classmates would've informed me – or the orphanage." He shook his head rapidly. "_Boy_, was she wrong."

Instead of commenting on the substance of that, Dora keyed on something completely different. "So _that's_ why your thesis is on making skelle-grow taste good."

"Yeah, it's nasty," Harry agreed, his complexion and hair returning to a state of 'Jim Blake Normal'.

Throughout their banter, Sprout wanted to severely hex the Waitangi medi-witch. Even though it was hysterical to see Jim's reaction to 'The Talk', his lack of knowledge on the subject could have had _gigantic_ repercussions for Miss Tonks.

"Just so we understand things completely," Pomona said, regaining her Badger's attention, "you two haven't had unprotected sex. Is that correct?"

Jim said 'yes' while Tonks said 'no'. They looked at each other, somewhat confused and with mirrored brows up, before they looked back to their head of house. "Yes, you're correct," Jim said at the same time Tonks said, "No we haven't gone that far."

Pomona Sprout lost control at that point and started snickering. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "but that was simply priceless." She shook herself and attempted to look menacing… it didn't work. "Now that you know what can happen, Mr. Blake, can I assume that the two of you will place yourselves on a potions regime?"

"Absolutely," Tonks said with a mad smile, surprising Jim a bit with how fast she answered.

Blinking at her for a second, he turned back to their head of house. "Yes we will," he said a bit sheepishly.

"Good," Pomona said, nearly failing to hold in her laughter. "Like I said this morning, I trust that both of you will be discreet. You are both of age to decide these matters, but I wanted to ensure that both of you knew the repercussions of such activity."

"Yes ma'am," they said together. Dora reached over to take Harry's hand, and grinned wide. Pomona just looked at her with an upraised brow.

* * *

In the dungeons, Professor Snape was going over the latest sixth year homework. Specifically, he was reading a rather in depth near thesis written by James Blake.

Outwardly, Severus regarded Blake with indifference and a bit of disdain. Inwardly however, he was delighted to find a similar mindset in regards to potions. Blake's methodology was well defined for someone so young, and he recognized a certain amount of hidden genius in the lad. Not that he would say anything of the sort.

Still, there was something… _off_… about the boy. After he'd finished grading papers, he had one of the castle's house elves retrieve Blake's records for him to browse privately in his chambers.

After downing half a glass of Ogden's Finest, he opened the folder – only to stop and stare at the boy's name. "Aries?" he whispered the boy's middle name.

Setting the folder down, he stood and paced in front of the fire. Blake's smirking smile was familiar, and had him clenching his stomach whenever he saw it. A constellation for a middle name? That was too much of a coincidence. The name Blake was a derivative of…

He stopped in front of the fire as his head popped up. "BLACK!" he shouted in realization.

Turning, he hurled his glass into the fireplace. "Mongrel thought he'd hide his indiscretions from _me_?" he muttered angrily with a scowl. Plans formed on how to completely humiliate the boy. While it was too late for the homework he'd already graded, he was damned sure to correct that in the future.


End file.
